Basketball player Brittney Griner speaks out for the first time since returning to American soil

Brittney Griner during Game 1 of the WNBA Finals against Chicago on September 7, 2014 in Phoenix.

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2 mins

The American basketball player who recently returned from Russia after an exchange with arms dealer Viktor Bout speaks in a post on the Instagram social network for the first time.

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With our correspondent in Washington

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In the photo, it's a smiling Brittney Griner, as she gets off the plane, at the precise moment she sets foot on American soil, in San Antonio, Texas.

The image is accompanied by a text: “

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Brittney Griner

thanks all those who supported her: her family and first her wife, then all her loved ones, those who worked on her return, with a special mention to President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and the diplomats who brought her back.

The basketball star was arrested last February in the Russian capital in possession of a vaporizer containing cannabis-based liquid when she went to Russia to play during the American offseason.

A return to the field in 2023

Brittney Griner also had a thought for

, still detained in Russia, and encourages all those who supported her to commit to his return.

She explains that all families deserve to be reunited.

His thanks finally go to the world of women's basketball and in particular to his team: the Phoenix Mercury.

And for anyone wondering, the message is crystal clear: Brittney Griner is still a professional basketball player.

She announces her intention to return to the game for the next season which will begin in May 2023.

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