Brittney Griner once suggested that the WNBA shouldn’t play the national anthem. She also walked off the court before the anthem was played at a game in 2020.
But Griner was imprisoned for nearly 10 months in Russia after she was arrested on drug charges in February 2022. She was freed in a prisoner swap after spending time in a gulag.
Since returning, Griner has seemingly mellowed about what the national anthem means.
Griner was seen in tears as the anthem played when the women’s basketball team received its gold medals for defeating France. She later draped an American flag around her shoulders.
“I didn’t think I would be here,” she said of the 2024 Paris Olympics, via 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.”
U.S. head coach Chery Reeve added that Griner was “grateful” to be with Team USA.
“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 said.
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