Brittney Griner’s agent has described the moment the WNBA star and his wife, Cherelle Griner, reunited in a Texas airplane hangar after a heartbreaking 10-month separation.
After her captivity in Russia, Griner returned to the United States on Friday morning, landing at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland.
Cherelle Griner, agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas and American officials were waiting for her there.
Colas told ESPN the meeting took place during a well-timed arrival.
Before the plane arrived, they looked for a place where the couple could share a moment without being seen by news cameras outside the base.
Someone noticed a black “X” taped to a suitable spot on the floor, so Cherelle stayed there and waited, Colas said.
When the plane landed, a medical team and a psychologist boarded first and spent about five minutes with the two-time Olympic gold medalist.
Griner then disembarked from the plane, entered the hangar and shared an extended hug with Cherelle as U.S. officials stood about 20 feet away, Colas said. The two then entered a “family room” that was set up with some of Griner’s favorite snacks, including Cheetos, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Dr Pepper.
Griner was then taken to a base hospital where she underwent a thorough evaluation.
On Sunday, she took the basketball court for the first time in months at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. She has no immediate plans to leave the base, according to Colas, and has yet to make a decision on if or when she will return to the WNBA.
“If she wants to play, it will be for her to share. He has the holiday to rest and decide what to do next without any pressure,” Colas told ESPN. “It’s going very, very well. He seems to have put up with it in some pretty incredible ways.”
Griner was released by Russia on Thursday in a prisoner swap for notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. The Phoenix Mercury basketball star was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport in February after police said they found cannabis oil vape containers in his luggage. Griner said he packed them by accident and had no intention of breaking the law.
She was sentenced in August to nine years in prison for drug possession. In November, she was transferred to a Russian penal colony to begin serving her sentence.
Cherelle Griner worked extensively with the media, the government and others to bring her home. In a social media post on Saturday, he thanked the White House and a long list of people he said helped make it happen.
“Yesterday, my heart was made whole through the collective efforts of MANY! I am humbled by their hearts. Caring for another, stranger to some, friend to others, is humanity in its purest form!” she wrote. “As BG and I begin our journey to heal our minds, bodies and spirits, I wanted to personally thank some of the hands; seen and unseen, which allowed me to see my wife again!”
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