Brittney Griner said she intends to play the upcoming WNBA season in emotional message to her supporters

If Brittney Griner needed a year or two away from basketball before she was ready to return to a court, it would have been understandable.

We would have understood if she never wanted to play again.

It was basketball that brought her to Russia in the first place, where she was arrested in February and sentenced to nine years in prison over less than a gram of hash oil.

But after 10 months locked away on foreign land, and just a week since her release, Griner said in a message thanking her supporters that she intends to play in the upcoming WNBA season.

I also want to make one thing very clear: I intend to play basketball for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury this season, and in doing so, I look forward to being able to say ‘thank you’ to those of you who advocated, wrote, and posted for me in person soon.

Griner’s return to the court for the Phoenix Mercury is sure to be an emotional moment. Her last game in the W was on Oct. 17, 2021 in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals against the Chicago Sky. The 2023 season is set to begin on May 19, with the Mercury visiting the Los Angeles Sparks that night. Phoenix’s home opener is May 21 against the Sky.

In her message on Instagram, Griner also stated her intention to use her platform to help President Joe Biden bring home other Americans.