WNBA star Brittney Griner has made plenty of headlines off the court during her playing career. In 2020, she drew the ire of many Americans for saying the national anthem should not be played before professional sports games. In 2022, she spent nine months wrongfully detained in Russia for having a cannabis vaporizer in her luggage.
But recent reports that she is leaving the United States are false. Griner has repeatedly expressed gratitude toward her home country for securing her release, and she wept during the national anthem after winning gold as a member of the U.S. women’s basketball team in this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
The false and fictitious claims come from the Basketball Daily News Facebook account.
“Unable to bear the pressure, Brittney Griner decided to leave the US and form a Russian women’s basketball team: ‘You lost a TALENT and added a STRONG OPPONENT,’” the account claimed on August 16.
“Brittney Griner Announces Departure from the United States: ‘If You Don’t Respect Me, You’ll Lose Your TALENT’” the account posted on August 28.
None of the quotes attributed to Griner have appeared in any other media outlet, and they run contrary to other statements she has made since her release from a Russian prison in December 2022. Since her return to the U.S., Griner has left the U.S. only once—this summer—to represent the U.S. women’s basketball team in the 2024 Paris Olympic games.
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