WASHINGTON – American basketball star Brittney Griner picked up a basketball for the first time in 10 months on Sunday and began her first workout with a dunk, her agent told ESPN.
Women’s NBA star Griner conducted a light workout at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, Lindsay Kagawa Colas told the US sports telecaster.
Griner was taken to the US army base for a medical checkup on Friday after being released from a Russian prison in exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout, known as the “Merchant of Death.”
Griner, who was arrested in Russia in February on drug charges, arrived overnight from Abu Dhabi, where the prisoner swap took place, and has not made any public statements.
Colas said Griner’s workout should not be taken as a sign that the 32-year-old Olympic and WNBA champion has made a decision about whether or not to resume her career with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury.
“If she wants to play, it will be for her to share,” Colas said. “She has the holidays to rest and decide what’s next without any pressure,” she added.
“She’s doing really, really well. She seems to have endured this in pretty incredible ways.”
Colas said Griner is likely to issue a statement this week and has no immediate plans to leave the base, where she and her wife, Cherelle, have been staying in a hotel.
“There’s no timeline on her return at this point,” Colas said. “She’s reintegrating into a world that has changed for her now.
“From a pure security standpoint, she’s not going to be able to move in the world the way she did. It’s not a fate that she asked for, but I think she’s going to try to utilize her fame for good.”
Griner received a haircut yesterday to style her hair after a drastic trim two weeks earlier when she expected a longer stint in Russian custody, Colas added. – AFP, December 12, 2022
