Source: Jamie Squire / Getty
We were all thrilled to see Brittney Griner‘s triumphant return to the WNBA after her 10-month detention in a Russian jail. And now, it’s time for us to be just as supportive now that the Phoenix Mercury star needs to “focus on her mental health,” according to the team.
“Mercury center Brittney Griner will not travel with the team on its upcoming two-game road trip to Chicago and Indiana (July 30-August 1) to focus on her mental health,” the team tweeted Sunday. “The Mercury fully support Brittney and we will continue to work together on a timeline for her return.”
Considering what Griner experienced—being detained for the better part of a year in a foreign country, sentenced to nearly a decade in prison and left uncertain about when or if she would be allowed to return home to her family—it should be no surprise that the Olympic gold medalist may need more time before she’s fully ready to return back to the game she loves.
“I didn’t think that I would be here today, honestly but everybody sending letters, sending love, posting,” Griner said after playing in her first WNBA All-Star game since her return, CBS News reported. “I’m still seeing it to this day everything that everybody did. It really meant a lot to me, it gave me hope it made me not want to just give it up for anything, so it was this league that helped me out.”
Hopefully, she continues to heal and prioritize her mental health and family over all else.
Take your time, sis. You have plenty.
