Basketball questions were sparse during Brittney Griner’s first WNBA postgame press conference in more than a year and a half. No inquiries about how she managed the lead the Phoenix Mercury in scoring after not playing for 579 days.
In their place, naturally, were questions about how her 10 months of detention in Russia changed her. Griner didn’t share much in her responses. At one point, she teased that she’ll have more to say in the memoir she’s writing.
MORE: Timeline of WNBA star’s arrest in Russia, detainment, prisoner exchange, return to U.S.
She did give one expansive answer. It was a response to Jemele Hill of The Atlantic, who asked Griner why she is now standing for the national anthem after previously advocating for it to not be played or performed at WNBA games.
Why is Brittney Griner standing for the national anthem now?
At the heart of Griner’s answer was her experience of being imprisoned in a foreign country for almost a year and not knowing when or if she would get out. As she said during the preseason, the anthem “hits different” now.
MORE: Brittney Griner anthem protests, revisited
“One good thing about this country is you have the right to protest. You have the right to be able to speak out, question, challenge and do all these things,”…
