Brittney Griner took to social media Wednesday to thank her fans for their support and to advocate for fellow American detainee Paul Whelan.
Griner was released earlier this month from Russian custody after being swapped for convicted arms dealer Victor Bout. She had been imprisoned since February for the alleged possession of hashish oil and sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony.
Throughout her detainment, many WNBA players, fans and more wrote letters to Griner, advocating for her release through the We Are BG campaign.
Every letter “mattered,” she wrote Wednesday.
“You took time to show me you cared and I want to personally take the time to write to you and say that your effort mattered,” she wrote. “Your letters helped me to not lose hope during a time where I was full of regret and vulnerable in ways I could have never imagined. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Because of you I never lost hope.”
The letters, Griner wrote, “were also bigger than uplifting me.”
“They showed me the power of collective hands. Together, we can do hard things,” she continued. “I’m living proof of that. My family is whole and now,…
