Brittney Griner discusses national anthem stance in return: ‘I definitely want to stand’

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Brittney Griner made her 2023 WNBA regular-season debut on Friday and the seven-time All-Star immediately made her presence felt. 

Griner scored 18 points, grabbed six rebounds, and blocked four shots in her first regular season game since being jailed in Russia for nearly 10 months.  

Brittney Griner, #42 of the Phoenix Mercury, during play against the Los Angeles Sparks at Crypto.com Arena on May 19, 2023, in Los Angeles, California.   (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Griner stood for the national anthem before the tip-off against the Los Angeles Sparks, a 94-71 loss for the Mercury.   

BRITTNEY GRINER PLAYS IN FIRST GAME SINCE DETAINMENT, SAYS HEARING NATIONAL ANTHEM 'DEFINITELY HIT DIFFERENT'

"You have the right to protest, the right to able to speak out, question, challenge and do all these things," Griner said, according to ESPN. "What I went through and everything, it just means a little bit more to me now. So I want to be able to stand. I was literally in a cage [in Russia] and could not stand the way I wanted to.

"Just being able to hear my national anthem, see my flag, I definitely want to stand. Now everybody that will not stand or not come out, I totally support them 100 percent. That's our right, as an American in this great country."

Griner was arrested in February 2022 at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport after authorities discovered vape canisters with cannabis oil in her luggage. 

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner, stands listening to a verdict in a courtroom in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022.  (Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool Photo via AP)

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