WNBA superstar Brittney Griner survived a harrowing 10 months in Russian custody for possessing medical hashish oil she accidentally brought aboard a domestic flight with her Russian Premier League team.
President Joe Biden fulfilled an earlier promise to negotiate with Vladimir Putin’s regime for the release of Griner, which he secured in a controversial prisoner swap for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Griner is now back in America and playing for her longtime franchise, the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA. She recently opened up about how she survived brutal conditions in a maximum security penal colony for women located 200 miles west of Moscow.
“I’m no stranger to hard times,” Griner said Thursday, according to The Guardian. “Just digging deep. You’re going to be faced with adversities in life. This was a pretty big one. I just relied on my hard work to get through it.”
She went on to say she never sat still and dwelled on her predicament.
“You can never stand still, and that was my thing; just never be still, never get too focused on the now and looking forward to what’s to come.”
Griner continues to work for the freedom of all imprisoned Americans, including former United States Marine Paul Whelan, who is serving 16 years in Russian custody on espionage charges.
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