Brittney Griner had her first press conference on Thursday since arriving in the United States. Griner returned to the United States in December after being detained in Russia for nearly ten months. She was detained in Russia last year and was charged with drug smuggling after airport authorities found vape cartridges with hanash oil. This resulted in her being sentenced to nine years in prison and was sent to a Russian penal colony to serve her sentence.
The United States government negotiated a prisoner transfer exchange for her. Griner returned home in December, while weapons arms dealer Viktor Bout was sent back to Russia. However it wasn’t just her thoughts about that ordeal that currently has everyone talking following the press conference.
The WNBA star discussed several topics, like the inclusion of transgender athletes in sports. Where she was very transparent in revealing that she believes it’s a crime that people are trying to ban transgender athletes from participating sports like basketball.
“That ranks high on the list of things I’ll be fighting for and speaking up against,” Griner said. “Everyone deserves the right to play. Everyone deserves the right to come here and sit in these seats and feel safe and not feel that there’s a threat and that they can’t be who they are”
“I think it’s a crime,”she continued, “honestly, to separate someone for any reason, so I will definitely be speaking up against that legislation and those laws that are trying to be passed.”
Transgender athletes not getting the opportunity to play sports has dominated headlines recently. Basketball Australia ruled Lexi Rodgers ineligible to play for the Kilsyth Cobras in the NBL1 South semi-professional league this season. Rodgers was a talented junior basketball player before her transition. Meanwhile, a high school women’s basketball team in Vermont had to forfeit their chance for a championship, as they didn’t want to face a team with a trans athlete. Mid Vermont Christian School dropped out of a tournament due to being uncomfortable with the situation.
Personally, I’m not fully educated on how transitioning affects one’s physical compared to what it would have been at birth, so I’ll reserve my thoughts until I have a fully educated outlook on both sides. Take a look at what Griner had to say and let us know your thoughts. Agree or disagree?
Brittney Griner on the exclusion of Transgender men in women’s sports:
“I think it’s a crime, honestly to separate someone for any reason.” pic.twitter.com/i7uTsNZSqt
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) April 28, 2023
