• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Brittney Griner says she’ll only play overseas again under one condition

Home> News

Published 07:50 28 Apr 2023 GMT+1

Brittney Griner says she’ll only play overseas again under one condition

She spoke out in her first press conference since returning to the US

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

Brittney Griner has said she’ll only ever play overseas again under one condition, following a 10-month detainment in Russia on drug-related charges.

Russian customs detained the 32-year-old WNBA star in February 2022 after discovering cannabis oil in her luggage, and she faced smuggling charges.

Despite only being caught with less than a gram of hash oil, Griner was locked up in one of the country's most notorious prisons - IK-2 in Mordovia, an isolated colony in Moscow.

It wasn’t until last December that she was released from custody, after being behind bars for 10 months.

Advert

Now Griner has vowed never to play overseas ever again – apart from in one specific context.

Griner during er first press conference since returning to the US.
NBC

In her first press conference since returning to the US, she told reporters: "I can say, for me, I'm never going overseas to play again unless I'm representing my country at the Olympics.”

She said the reason she and other WNBA players play abroad in the first place during off-season is down to the disparity in pay between their league and the NBA.

Advert

"It's a shame that we have to leave our families for holidays," she continued.

"I mean, you're missing everything, being away. But, at the same time, as much as I would love to pay my light bill for the love of the game, I can't. So I think that's probably one of the biggest reasons people are still going overseas. And that's why I was there. Hopefully that changes, though."

After arriving in Russia in February last year, Griner was jailed on drug charges and underwent a trial that July - pleading guilty, but claiming she had no criminal intent when she brought the cannabis oil into the country.

She claimed the canisters had been packed by accident as she prepared for her flight, and that they had been prescribed to her to treat chronic pain.

Advert

Griner was freed on 8 December as part of a negotiation deal signed off by US President Joe Biden.

She was released in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who Russian President Vladimir Putin has been seeking to get back after he was sentenced to 25 years in prison in the US.

Biden's administration had initially sought the release of both Griner and American corporate security executive Paul Whelan, but the president eventually signed off on the negotiation despite the fact it meant leaving Whelan behind.

Featured Image Credit: YouTube / NBC News

Topics: World News, Brittney Griner, US News

Jess Hardiman
Jess Hardiman

Jess is Entertainment Desk Lead at LADbible Group. She graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

X

@Jess_Hardiman

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

3 hours ago
4 hours ago
  • 3 hours ago

    'Terrifying' footage shows moment Delta Airlines jet sets fire shortly after take-off

    The plane was carrying over 200 people at the time of incident

    News
  • 4 hours ago

    New investigation launched after health experts find potentially fatal side effect of taking weight loss drugs

    Mounjaro and Ozempic have seen increasing popularity amid reports of side effects

    News
  • 4 hours ago

    Expert issues travel warning about the items you should never put in your checked luggage

    Listening to these tips could save you a whole lot of stress in the long run

    News
  • 4 hours ago

    Doctor responsible for Pope Leo's first miracle breaks silence after saving premature baby with prayer

    The premature child was born in 2007 and wasn't expected to survive

    News
  • Jim Carrey says he will only play The Grinch again under one condition
  • Rebecca Black says she’ll only stop playing infamous song Friday under one condition
  • Brittney Griner becomes 'pops' after birth of her first baby with wife Cherelle
  • Monsters creator Ryan Murphy would make more Menendez brothers episodes under one condition