Brittney Griner reunites with her family at Texas military facility, where she got some barbecue and made her first dunk since her release - CNN

CNN  — 

Freed from a Russian penal colony and backmost connected American soil, WNBA prima Brittney Griner got her archetypal sensation of a instrumentality to mean beingness astatine a Texas subject installation implicit the weekend.

The Olympic golden medalist and hoops superstar arrived astatine Brooke Army Medical Center successful San Antonio Friday and is present staying with her wife, Cherelle Griner, successful a residential situation connected the basal – 1 that her agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, decorated with a Christmas tree.

Colas told CNN Griner is “upbeat, thankful and hopeful” aft returning to the US.

For Griner – who spent astir 10 months successful detention successful Russia – “normal” has meant indulging successful her favorites: a Dr Pepper soda, the archetypal portion she had successful the airplane hangar aft landing.

Members of Griner’s household person visited her disconnected and connected for hours, bringing immoderate San Antonio barbecue for her to enjoy.

The jock has been eating acold much nutritious nutrient and supplements compared with her clip successful detention, Colas said. “Her vigor level was truly high,” she added.

Griner besides got a haircut to cleanable up her “Russian fade,” arsenic her friends and household jokingly telephone it, Colas said.

Griner’s long, signature deadlocks had been chopped portion successful captivity. Griner continuously battled the flu portion detained due to the fact that her hairsbreadth kept freezing and she was incapable to adust it, Colas said.

At the Texas subject base, Griner deed the hoops tribunal for the archetypal clip since she was imprisoned. Her archetypal determination was a dunk.

Months ago, successful pre-trial detention successful Russia, Griner was offered a hoops and a hoop, but she declined to play, Colas said.

“I deliberation it’s just to accidental that her picking up a shot voluntarily and the archetypal happening being a dunk … it was truly encouraging,” Colas said. “She was truly excited.”

Griner seems to beryllium successful bully carnal health, but whether she volition instrumentality to the WNBA successful the outpouring play volition beryllium up to her to decide, according to Colas.

“Is she going to beryllium ready? We’ll see,” Colas said.

The 32-year-old arrived astatine the San Antonio aesculapian installation for a regular valuation aft her merchandise Thursday from what US officials deemed wrongful detention.

She was freed arsenic portion of a prisoner speech betwixt the US and Russia for notorious convicted arms trader Viktor Bout, an speech that took months to negociate aft the hoops prima was arrested connected cause charges astatine a Russian airdrome successful February and past sentenced to 9 years successful prison.

Now, the absorption volition beryllium connected recuperating.

While successful San Antonio, Griner volition beryllium receiving carnal and intelligence enactment from the authorities to assistance with her reintegration aft captivity.

“She’s had a batch of intelligence support,” Colas said. “The resources are precise robust. It’s precise supportive and precise BG centered. It’s astir her processing agency.”

That attraction is heavy focused connected helping formerly captive individuals regain a consciousness of power implicit their lives aft lengthy detentions.

Griner opted into the Department of Defense’s station isolation program, which different wrongfully detained Americans, including Trevor Reed, person participated in, Colas said.

It’s not wide however agelong Griner and her woman volition stay successful San Antonio, but the determination is hers, Colas added.

But what’s go wide is that “normal” volition ever look antithetic aft the ordeal Griner went through.

For information reasons, the Griners person already begun the process of uncovering a caller home, Colas said.

Though it remains chartless if fans volition spot Griner backmost connected the hoops tribunal successful May, 1 happening is certain, Colas said: Griner is anxious to usage her powerfulness and power to assistance others – particularly Paul Whelan, different American inactive imprisoned successful Russia.

“It was 1 of the archetypal things she asked maine about,” Colas said. “She’s very, precise acrophobic astir that. And volition beryllium sending a connection to Paul.”

Whelan already sent a connection done US representatives who spoke with him successful caller days: “Please archer Brittney that Paul said he’s blessed she’s home,” helium told her, according to Colas.

“She is perfectly reasoning astir the future,” Colas said. “She’s already talking astir the presumption that she’s present successful to assistance different radical travel home.”

Whelan – a US, Irish, British and Canadian national – is presently imprisoned successful a Russian penal colony aft helium was arrested successful December 2018 connected espionage charges, which helium has denied. He was sentenced to 16 years successful prison. He, similar Griner, had been declared wrongfully detained by US officials.

The US tried to transportation Russia to swap some Griner and Whelan for arms trader Bout, but Russian officials would not budge connected the matter, with Russia saying some of the Americans’ cases were handled otherwise based connected the charges each of them faced.