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Brittney Griner was among the many WNBA gamers who spoke out concerning the nationwide anthem in 2020 amid a summer time of racial unrest following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
Griner mentioned in 2020 that the WNBA should not play the nationwide anthem, including the league ought to “take that much of stand.” She additionally walked off the courtroom earlier than the anthem was performed earlier than a recreation that season.
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Gold medalists Alyssa Thomas and Brittney Griner stand on the rostrum with bronze medalist Jade Melbourne of Australia. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
But since then, Griner has gone by way of tumult. She was imprisoned for almost 10 months in Russia after she was arrested on drug costs in February 2022. The U.S. and Russia would comply with a prisoner swap and the ordeal appeared to vary Griner’s stance about what “The Star-Spangled Banner” means to the nation.
Griner was seen with the gold medal round her neck after the U.S. girls’s basketball crew defeated France on the Paris Olympics and in tears because the anthem blared.
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Gold medalist Brittney Griner holds the U.S. flag. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
“I didn’t think I would be here,” she mentioned of the 2024 Paris Olympics, through Reuters. “And then to be here and winning gold for my country, representing when my country fought for me so hard to even be standing here. This gold medal is going to hold a special place among the other two I was fortunate to win.”
A’ja Wilson known as Griner a “warrior” as she described the Phoenix Mercury heart’s time with Team USA greater than two years after her arrest overseas.
U.S. head coach Chery Reeve added that Griner was “grateful” to be with Team USA.
Gold medalist Brittney Griner cries throughout the nationwide anthem. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
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“She was so thankful to be here… I think we all should just keep checking on her because it’s unfathomable what she went through,” Reeve mentioned.
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