In a significant departure from her past stance, WNBA icon Brittney Griner took to the court ahead of a game between the Phoenix Mercury and Los Angeles Sparks, standing proudly during the national anthem.
This action, contrary to her previous years of protest, surprised many and led to her clarifying her changed perspective.
On Friday, following a game that ended in the Mercury's 94-71 loss to the Sparks, Griner publicly articulated her reasons for standing during the anthem, as reported by Fox News.
Her comments mark a shift from her previous outspoken support for the anti-anthem movement in 2020, when she advocated for the national anthem's removal from the league's pre-game rituals entirely.
"You have the right to protest, the right to be able to speak out, question, challenge and do all these things," Griner elucidated post-match. "What I went through and everything, it just means a little bit more to me now. So I want to be able to stand. I was literally in a cage [in Russia] and could not stand the way I wanted to."
The experience Griner references is her harrowing incarceration in Russia for nearly a year, a consequence of being convicted of importing drugs. Russian authorities discovered a cannabis-infused vape cartridge in her luggage as she was departing Moscow. This conviction led to a sentence of ten years of hard labor, and Griner was subsequently interred in the Russian prison system.
"Just being able to hear my national anthem, see my flag, I definitely want to stand," Griner explained, clearly moved by her recent experiences. "Now everybody that will not stand or not come out, I totally support them 100 percent. Thats our right, as an American in this great country."
Her sentiments echoed the message delivered in an op-ed published by her sports representative prior to the game. This public announcement marked the first time the player herself gave voice to her reasoning.
Griner's current stance is a far cry from her sentiments a few years prior. In July 2020, she unequivocally supported the anti-anthem movement, arguing that the league should stop playing the anthem altogether.
"I honestly feel we should not play the national anthem during our season. I think we should take that much of a stand," she contended during a sports media interview. "I'm going to protest regardless. I'm not going to be out there for the national anthem," Griner firmly stated.
However, following her lengthy ordeal in Russia, which ended with her exchange for the notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, colloquially known as "the merchant of death," Griner's perspective seems to have shifted significantly. After ten months navigating the harsh realities of the Russian legal system, Griner returned home to the U.S.A.
Upon her return, Griner conveyed that the national anthem now resonates differently with her, saying, "I appreciate everything a little bit more, all of the small moments, like, 'Oh, I'm so tired I don't want to go to practice today,' that has changed, honestly. Tomorrow is not guaranteed, you dont know what its going to look like. I feel a lot older somehow, too."
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