Brittney Griner says she will never play basketball abroad again after being held in a prison in Russia for almost ten months. However, the WNBA player shared one reason why she changed her mind.
The 32-year-old shared her thoughts during a nearly hour-long press conference on Thursday. The meeting was streamed on the official Phoenix Mercury YouTube page.
Griner speaks to the media for the first time since she was released from Russian custody in December
This is the first time the WNBA star has spoken to the media since she was released from prison in Russia in December.
“If I made that team, it would be the only time I’d ever leave American soil and that would be just to represent the United States,” the Phoenix Mercury star revealed.
She continued.
“I will never go abroad again unless I represent my country at the Olympics.”
Brittney Griner on whether she plans to go abroad to play basketball in the future:
“I will never go abroad again unless I represent my country at the Olympics.” pic.twitter.com/ZUI2LFi0yX
– Khristina Williams (@Khristina) April 27, 2023
Griner, like many other WNBA players, was forced to compete abroad due to the “Payment Gap,” she said.
Griner found herself playing for the Russian women’s basketball team, UMMC Yekaterinburg, despite being a WNBA superstar. The Far Eastern League is said to have paid her far more than any team in the state.
Unfortunately, she adds that many other WNBA players also choose to play abroad, citing the pay gap.
“I’ll say this, the whole reason a lot of us get over it is the pay gap,” says Griner. “A lot of us go there to earn an income, feed our families and support ourselves.”
During the WNBA, she asked for a six-figure salary instead of the roughly $1.5 million she normally earns in Russia, according to ESPN.
The super max salary for 2022 is $228,094, with allowed players the opportunity to earn even more from bonuses and marketing deals.
As reported by NBC Connecticut, the average salary for a player in the WNBA for the 2022 season is $102,751 among 151 athletes. In contrast, the average salary of an NBA player is $9,662,447 for the 2022-23 season, according to Gaimday.com.
“So I don’t knock out any player who wants to go abroad and earn a little more money. I hope that our league continues to grow and with many here now reporting on this, I hope you will continue, as I said, to cover our league, bring us in contact.”
Griner explained.
Sacrificing, missing friends and family is another reason to play at home, per Griner
However, despite being paid a lot to compete abroad, Griner said she was forced to make many sacrifices and missed friends and family when she was away from home.
“I mean, you’re missing out on things when you’re away,” she said. “But at the same time, I would love to pay my light bill with my love of the game, but I can’t. So I think that’s probably one of the biggest reasons why people still go abroad, and that’s why I’m there. So hopefully that will change.
RELATED: Brittney Griner Re-Signs With WNBA Team Phoenix Mercury To 1-Year $165K Contract
Brittney Griner said she looks forward to seeing the same kind of Mercury season news as she gets today. pic.twitter.com/uRm0mZKtwK
– Josh Weinfuss (@joshweinfuss) April 27, 2023
In August 2022, a court in Russia found Brittney Griner guilty of attempted drug trafficking and possession. According to CNN, the guilty verdict says Brittney had criminal intent when she attempted to enter the country with less than a gram of cannabis oil in her luggage.
Prior to sentencing, Russian prosecutors asked the court to consider giving the WNBA star 9.5 years in prison in their final argument. Shortly after news of the verdict broke, Griner’s lawyers confirmed that the Russian court had complied with the prosecutor’s request.
As a result, she was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony, each The New York Times. In addition, the judge fined Brittney about $16,300 – one million rubles.
However, her sentence was substantially reduced on December 8, 2022, after Russia and the United States conducted a prisoner exchange, exchanging Griner for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer.
