WNBA star Brittney Griner experienced a taste of normal on her first weekend back in San Antonio after spending 10 months in detention in Russia.
After receiving medical care at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Griner and her wife Cherelle moved to a more residential environment, one that has been decorated for Christmas by her agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas.
Colas told CNN that Griner is “upbeat, thankful and hopeful” after returning home on Friday. For Griner, “normal” has meant indulging in her favorites: her first drink after landing was a Dr Pepper soda.
This weekend, as members of her family visited off and on for hours, they brought some real San Antonio barbecue for her to enjoy. She received new glasses and was eating far more nutritious food and supplements compared with her time in detention.
“Her energy level was really high,” Colas said.
While in San Antonio, Griner will be receiving physical and psychological support from the US government in an effort to aid her reentry. That care is heavily focused on helping former captives regain a sense of control over their lives after lengthy detentions.
“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.”
Griner had been charged and convicted in a Russian court of drug trafficking after admitting to having a small amount of marijuana in her bag while returning to the country in February to play professional basketball. She was serving a 9-year sentence in a Russian penal colony until she was released in a prisoner swap for convicted arms trafficker Viktor Bout.
Griner has opted into the Department of Defense’s PISA program (Post Isolation Support Activities), which other wrongfully detained Americans, including Trevor Reed, have participated in, Colas added.
Moving forward: Griner is eager to use power and influence to help others. Especially another American left behind in Russia, Paul Whelan.
“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 also 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 already talking about the position that she’s now in to help other people come home.”
