Basketball star Brittney Griner announces career ‘rebrand’ as she signs with new team
Brittney Griner has announced a major career reband. (Getty)
Basketball star Brittney Griner has announced that she intends to sign with Atlanta Dream as part of a career “rebrand.”
WNBA All-Star Grinner revealed in a social media post that she will sign a one-year contract with the team after more than 10 years with Phoenix Mercury.
“Free agency has been everything I wanted it to be,” she said. “I was able to find where I wanted to go. Honestly, what led me to that decision ultimately was the team, the players [and] my family.”
Griner added that she was “thrilled for this chapter” of her career, although she admitted it wasn’t easy to leave Phoenix, where she won the WNBA title in 2014.
“It was a hard decision since you’re leaving what you know, what I’ve known for my whole career,” she continued. “There’s an exciting factor of like, OK, this is a rebrand now. I get to show them something different.”
In 2022, Griner, who has won three Olympic gold medals playing for the US, was arrested in Russia and sentenced to nine years in prison for possessing two vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. She was held for 10 months, prompting a “Free Brittney Griner” campaign from supporters, and fellow basketball stars.
She was eventually released in December 2022 in a prisoner swap involving arms dealer Viktor Bout. Speaking to journalists four months later, she said she never wants to play overseas again, except with one exception. “That would be the only time I’ll leave the US soil, just to represent the USA,” she said.
Asked if she felt guilt over being released when others remain in custody, Griner said: “If I could have got them out or any of that, I would have. It hurts because no one should be in those conditions. Hands down, no one should be in any of the conditions I went through or they’re going through.”
The star was named as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023.
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