Why Brittney Griner arrived in Texas with short hair - Chron

Griner's attorney explains why the WNBA star pruned her signature locs in Russian prison.

Dec. 9, 2022Updated: Dec. 9, 2022 2:53 p.m.

Brittney Griner is seen at Women's Penal Colony No 2 before her prisoner exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Fsb/TASS via ZUMA Press

There was something noticeably different about WNBA star Brittney Griner's appearance as she was flown into her home state of Texas from Russia overnight: she was missing her signature locs. Videos and photos that emerged from her prisoner swap with Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in the United Arab Emirates showed Griner with shortly cropped hair, raising concerns from fans who wondered if the Phoenix Mercury player was forced to get rid of her locs while imprisoned.

Griner's attorney Maria Blagovolina told ESPN that the basketball star recently decided to chop off nearly all of her hair because it kept freezing in the bitter cold after prison showers. The brutal temperatures are a reflection of the grim conditions Griner faced while imprisoned and the haircut suggests she was prepared for a lengthy stay. "It's very cold in there and every time she washed her hair she got cold and would get a chill," Blagovolina said. "She should have waited until New Year's Day."

Brittney Griner has a meal at Women's Penal Colony No. 2 near Mordovia before her release through a prisoner exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout on Thursday.
Fsb/TASS via ZUMA Press

For 10 months, Griner was detained in Russia after officials at a Moscow airport said they found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage in February. She was transferred from a Moscow jail to a Russian penal colony in November to serve out her sentence. During her imprisonment, Griner carried fabric all day for Russian women prisoners sewing uniforms since the 6-foot-9 player was too tall to sit at the worktables and her hands were too large for sewing, per ESPN. Blagovolina told ESPN that Griner's life in prison wasn't as bad as she imagined it could be. "She had honestly no complaints," Blagovolina said. "Things could have been much worse."

President Joe Biden confirmed that Griner was released from a Russian prison on Thursday and was on a plane home following a prisoner exchange between U.S. and Moscow officials. The administration reportedly received a proposal for the one-on-one trade of Griner for Bout within the past couple of weeks and Biden decided last week to make the deal, per ESPN. On Friday morning, Griner arrived at an airport in San Antonio where she was expected to reunite with her wife Cherelle after landing. She will receive care at the Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston before returning home to Phoenix.

Adblock test (Why?)