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

CNN
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Freed from a Russian penal colony and back on American soil, WNBA star Brittney Griner got her first taste of a return to normal life at a Texas military facility over the weekend.

The Olympic gold medalist and basketball superstar arrived at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio Friday and is now staying with her wife, Cherelle Griner, in a residential environment on the base – one that her agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, decorated with a Christmas tree.

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

For Griner – who spent nearly 10 months in detention in Russia – “normal” has meant indulging in her favorites: a Dr Pepper soda, the first drink she had in the airplane hangar after landing.

Members of Griner’s family have visited her off and on for hours, bringing some San Antonio barbecue for her to enjoy.

The athlete has been eating far more nutritious food and supplements compared with her time in detention, Colas said. “Her energy level was really high,” she added.

Griner also got a haircut to clean up her “Russian fade,” as her friends and family jokingly call it, Colas said.

Griner’s long, signature deadlocks had been cut while in captivity. Griner continuously battled the flu while detained because her hair kept freezing and she was unable to dry it, Colas said.

At the Texas military base, Griner hit the basketball court for the first time since she was imprisoned. Her first move was a dunk.

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

“I think it’s fair to say that her picking up a ball voluntarily and the first thing being a dunk … it was really encouraging,” Colas said. “She was really excited.”

Griner seems to be in good physical health, but whether she will return to the WNBA in the spring season will be up to her to decide, according to Colas.

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

The 32-year-old arrived at the San Antonio medical facility for a routine evaluation after her release Thursday from what US officials deemed wrongful detention.

She was freed as part of a prisoner exchange between the US and Russia for notorious convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout, an exchange that took months to negotiate after the basketball star was arrested on drug charges at a Russian airport in February and then sentenced to nine years in prison.

Now, the focus will be on recuperating.

While in San Antonio, Griner will be receiving physical and psychological support from the government to help with her reintegration after captivity.

“She’s had a lot of psychological support,” Colas said. “The resources are very robust. It’s very supportive and very BG centered. It’s about her developing agency.”

That care is heavily focused on helping formerly captive individuals regain a sense of control over their lives after lengthy detentions.

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

It’s not clear how long Griner and her wife will remain in San Antonio, but the decision is hers, Colas added.

But what’s become clear is that “normal” will always look different after the ordeal Griner went through.

For security reasons, the Griners have already begun the process of finding a new home, Colas said.

Though it remains unknown if fans will see Griner back on the basketball court in May, one thing is certain, Colas said: Griner is eager to use her power and influence to help others – especially Paul Whelan, another American still imprisoned in Russia.

“It was one of the first things she asked me about,” Colas said. “She’s very, very concerned about that. And will be sending a message to Paul.”

Whelan already sent a message through US representatives who spoke with him in recent days: “Please tell Brittney that Paul said he’s happy she’s home,” he told her, according to Colas.

“She is absolutely thinking about the future,” Colas said. “She’s already talking about the position that she’s now in to help other people come home.”

Whelan – a US, Irish, British and Canadian citizen – is currently imprisoned in a Russian penal colony after he was arrested in December 2018 on espionage charges, which he has denied. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison. He, like Griner, had been declared wrongfully detained by US officials.

The US tried to persuade Russia to swap both Griner and Whelan for arms dealer Bout, but Russian officials would not budge on the matter, with Russia saying both of the Americans’ cases were handled differently based on the charges each of them faced.