Brittney Griner Calls ‘Coming Home’ to Baylor ‘Exactly 2 Years After Being Detained’ a ‘Full Circle Moment’

• Brittney Griner called her return to Baylor University a “full-circle moment” in a new Instagram post
• The WNBA star said having her jersey retired at Baylor “filled my heart with immense gratitude”
• Later this year, Griner will publish her memoir detailing the 10 months she spent in Russia

Brittney Griner reflects on her return to Baylor University.

On Monday, Griner, 33, wrote an emotional Instagram post about her recent trip to her Waco, Texas, alma mater, where her jersey now hangs as the most decorated women’s basketball player in university history.

“There’s no feeling like HOMECOMING,” Griner wrote, noting, “My career couldn’t have gotten to where it is without Baylor.”

The Phoenix Mercury star continued, “COMING HOME to Baylor last week was such a full circle. It was exactly two years after I was detained in Russia, a time when I wondered if I would ever come home.”

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USA basketball player Brittney Griner, of the Phoenix Mercury, speaks during a press conference at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, April 27, 2023. PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty

Continuing her message Monday, Griner said, “Being at home, surrounded by my loved ones and the Baylor community as my jersey hangs forever in the rafters – filled my heart with immense gratitude.”

The WNBA star thanked Baylor, her college coach Nicki Collen “and every staff and faculty member who made this moment possible” in the post. “It was so good to see you and I am forever honored. I look forward to coming home!”

Griner spent 10 months in Russia after being detained at an airport in February 2022 due to alleged hashish oil in her luggage. She was released by December in a one-for-one prisoner swap for international arms dealer Viktor Bout, CBS News reported, citing a US official.

American Women’s National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, arrives for a hearing at a court in Khimki, outside Moscow August 4, 2022 – Lawyers for American basketball star Brittney Griner, who is on trial in Russia on drug charges, said on July 26, 2022 that they hope to receive a “light” sentence. KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Brittney Griner to publish ‘raw, emotional’ memoir in 2024 detailing her 10 months in Russia

Griner’s career at Baylor included a 2012 national championship, two Final Four appearances and six Big 12 Conference championships.

Over four seasons, the Houston native scored 3,283 points and grabbed 1,305 rebounds. She also recorded the school’s first triple-double and holds the Big 12 records for points scored (3,283), field goals made (1,247), free throws (787) and attempts (1,054) and blocks (748).

Griner still holds the NCAA record for blocks in a season (223) and career. She is also the only player in NCAA women’s basketball history to have over 2,000 career points and 500 career blocks. Of the 148 games she played, Griner scored in double figures in all but two.

Brittney Griner #42 of the Baylor Bears reacts in the first half against the Stanford Cardinal during the 2012 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship national semifinal game at the Pepsi Center on April 1, 2012.

Doug Pensinger/Getty

A timeline of Brittney Griner’s imprisonment in Russia

Earlier this month, Griner announced that her upcoming memoir, which will detail her time in Russia, will be titled Coming home and will arrive in stores this spring.

“Coming home is a story of hope and survival, before and after,” Griner said in a statement. “Before, on my way to Russia, the place I called my second home, I was excited to win another title. I played there for eight seasons, won and lived a long time. A short time later and a world away, I woke up at a moment I wouldn’t wish on anyone.”

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Source: HIS Education