Brittney Griner is back home and she intends to play basketball this season - CNN

CNN  — 

Brittney Griner departed a aesculapian subject installation successful Texas connected Friday and returned home, and she intends to play hoops for her squad this season, according to her Instagram feed.

For the two-time Olympic golden medalist, who was released past week successful a captive swap aft astir 300 days successful Russian custody, the time marks different measurement successful her reintegration into American life.

“It feels truthful bully to beryllium home! The past 10 months person been a conflict astatine each turn,” she said successful an Instagram post. “I dug heavy to support my religion and it was the emotion from truthful galore of you that helped support maine going. From the bottommost of my heart, convey you to everyone for your help.”

Griner said she was “grateful to each idiosyncratic who advocated for me” and she mentioned Paul Whelan, whose merchandise could not beryllium secured successful the captive swap that brought her home.

“President Biden, you brought maine location and I cognize you are committed to bringing Paul Whelan and each Americans location too,” she said. “I volition usage my level to bash immoderate I tin to assistance you. I besides promote everyone that played a portion successful bringing maine location to proceed their efforts to bring each Americans home. Every household deserves to beryllium whole.”

Griner took disconnected from Kelly Field successful San Antonio astir 11 a.m. connected Friday, CNN confirmed via her cause Lindsay Kagawa Colas.

As she boarded the plane, Griner was greeted by Phoenix Mercury GM Jim Pitman, Vince Kozar president of the Phoenix Mercury and her Mercury teammate Diana Taurasi, each of whom made a astonishment quality to invited her home.

Griner is heading backmost to Arizona, though her representatives would not corroborate precisely where, citing information concerns. CNN antecedently reported that Griner and her wife, Cherelle, had already made plans to determination upon her instrumentality to the United States.

“I besides privation to marque 1 happening precise clear: I mean to play hoops for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury this season, and successful doing so, I look guardant to being capable to accidental ‘thank you’ to those of you who advocated, wrote, and posted for maine successful idiosyncratic soon,” Griner said.

Griner’s detention, aft Russian officials recovered vape cartridges containing cannabis lipid successful her luggage, became an planetary origin during a delicate clip successful relations betwixt Washington and Moscow. US officials deemed it a wrongful detention.

She had traveled to Russia to play hoops successful the WNBA offseason and was arrested connected cause smuggling charges astatine an airdrome successful the Moscow region.

Despite her grounds that she had inadvertently packed the cannabis lipid successful her luggage, Griner was sentenced to 9 years successful situation successful aboriginal August and was moved to a penal colony successful the Mordovia republic successful mid-November aft losing her appeal.

The Phoenix Mercury halfway became a pawn successful Russia’s warfare successful Ukraine and returned to the US connected December 9 aft a captive swap for notorious convicted Russian arms trader Viktor Bout.

Griner stayed astatine Brooke Army Medical Center successful San Antonio for a week for regular evaluation. She has been staying with her wife, Cherelle Griner, successful a residential installation connected the base. Her apprehension and condemnation brought attraction to the plight of different Americans successful Russian custody, including Whelan and Trevor Reed, who returned to the US successful April aft a astir three-year ordeal.

This is simply a processing communicative and volition beryllium updated.