Brittney Griner on playing for Team USA after kneeling during anthem, Russian imprisonment: 'Means everything'

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Brittney Griner is no stranger to wearing Team USA across her basketball jersey in the Olympics, but a more reflective player heads to Paris considering what she’s been through since the 2020 Toyko Games. 

Griner, a two-time gold medalist for the U.S., was in Russian prison two years ago after being sentenced to nine years in jail for drug possession and smuggling after the Federal Customs Service found her traveling with vape cartridges containing less than a gram of hash oil, which is illegal in Russia. 

Griner would later be set free in a high-profile prisoner exchange that sent Viktor Bout, nicknamed the "Merchant of Death," who was serving a 25-year federal sentence on charges of conspiracy to kill American citizens and officials, among others. 

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Brittney Griner #15 and Diana Taurasi #12 of the USA Basketball Women's National Team stretch during practice as part of the 2024 USA Basketball Showcase on July 22, 2024 in London, England at City Sport. (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

Before playing in the WNBA All-Star Game, where Griner, a star with the league’s Phoenix Mercury, spoke about how she gets chills wearing her Team USA jersey now. 

"It means everything to me honestly," Griner said, via The Associated Press. "For me to now have the honor to wear it again and potentially win gold is icing on the cake for everything."

This tune wasn’t sung by Griner always, as she previously suggested the WNBA shouldn’t play the national anthem before its games back in 2020 when social unrest was at the forefront during "Black Lives Matter" protests.

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"I think we should take that much of a stand," Griner, who also knelt for the national anthem, told The Arizona Republic in July 2020. 

However, when Griner returned home from Russia, where she went to supplement her WNBA income by playing internationally, she said her appreciation for hearing the anthem was different.

"It’s like when you go for the Olympics, you’re sitting there, about to get gold put on your neck, the flags are going up, and the anthem is playing, it just hits different," she said after hearing the anthem for the first time since returning to the States. 

Griner also recently clapped back at critics who called her un-American for kneeling during the anthem, saying she was "blown away" by their words during an appearance on "The View."

"Everyone has made a mistake before," Griner said, responding to people who deemed her "careless." "The unpatriotic thing, that blows my mind, because, one, my dad fought for this country, ’68, ’69, Vietnam Marines and law enforcement for 30 plus years. Dad was my hero. I wanted to be a cop. I didn’t want to play basketball growing up, I wanted to be a cop and go into the military, actually. And doesn’t it make me more American that I’m demonstrating a protest? That's my right as an American, so for me to be called un-American, I was blown away at that."

Brittney Griner during the USA Women's basketball team training session at CitySport, The Franklin Building, London, before playing against Germany at the O2 arena in London in preparation for the Paris Olympic Games on July 22nd, 2024, in London, England. (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

As she’s set to head overseas again, Griner feels very "protected" with Team USA. 

"It’s different, it’s way different," she explained. "The level of comfortability and security we have right now makes it a lot easier."

Griner has a lot to celebrate off the court these days as well, as she announced her wife, Cherelle, gave birth to their son, Bash, on July 8. She admitted it’s going to be hard being away from them while representing her country. 

Team USA head coach Cheryl Reeve discussed Griner and what she’s about to experience overseas for the first time since her Russian imprisonment.

"Think outside the Olympics, someone’s personal experience and what she went through and still continues to go through," Reeve said. "We were all thinking of BG when she was away, and we didn’t know if this moment would be possible. I’m thrilled for her personally and thrilled for our basketball team."

Brittney Griner #15 of the USA Basketball Women's National Team poses for a portrait during Training Camp in Phoenix, Arizona on July 17, 2024 as part of WNBA All Star. (Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images)

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Team USA, looking to win yet another gold, will play its first game in the Olympics against Japan in the group phase on July 29 in Lille, France.

Fox News' Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.

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