Brittney Griner’s Wife Cherelle Reflects on “Overwhelming” New Chapter

Brittney’s 10-month detention in Russia, where she played basketball during the WNBA off-season, has also brought forward a new path for Cherelle, a lawyer, which is to help advocate for wrongfully detained Americans everywhere.

“I realized how voiceless the issue is,” she said. “I was 29 when Brittney was detained, and that’s when I found out that it was even a real thing. That shouldn’t be the case. I should have known about that before, which means we need more voices around this issue. My story came full circle. But there’s so many other Americans, their story is not full circle.”

And while life has changed for the couple remarkably since Brittney’s arrest, it’s about moving forward from here on out.

“We’re mindful of the fact you can’t go backwards. You say, ‘Oh, let’s get back to normal,'” Cherelle said. “We do understand that the normal we are referring to was what we were doing before February 17. We reminisce about certain things in the past. Still, we’re trying to make sure we’re not going backwards. For the most part, we’re eyes focused on what’s in store next for the both of us.”