Brittney Griner, Who Previously Knelt For National Anthem, Changes Tune On USA Ahead Of Olympics
WNBA star Brittney Griner is part of the United States women's basketball team that will compete in Paris at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Back in 2020, when "Black Lives Matter" protests – that were allegedly "mostly peaceful – were ravaging the country and destroying cities, Griner stood in solidarity with anger towards the United States.
She suggested that the WNBA should forgo playing the American National Anthem before games.
"I honestly feel we should not play the national anthem during our season," Griner told The Arizona Republic in July 2020. "I think we should take that much of a stand."
She also knelt during the national anthem in 2020.
But after Brittney Griner was detained in Russia for having drug paraphernalia in her luggage, the United States government agreed to a prisoner swap to free Griner from custody.
Upon her return to the States, Griner changed her tune on her home country's song.
"Hearing the national anthem, it definitely hit different," Griner said after hearing the anthem for the first time after returning to the United States. "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."
Brittney Griner and her teammates stand for the United States National Anthem during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
(Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images)
Sure, having your country bail you out of a foreign prison is likely to have that effect. Thankfully, Griner hasn't wavered about her new appreciation for America as she gears up to don the Red, White and Blue in Paris.
"It means everything to me honestly," Griner told The Associated Press when asked about wearing the Team USA jersey. "For me to now have the honor to wear it again and potentially win gold is icing on the cake for everything."
This will be Griner's third time competing in the Olympics for the United States after winning gold in 2016 and 2021 (at the 2020 Tokyo Games, which were played the following year due to COVID).
Brittney Griner is now very proud to be an American and represent the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris
Look, I'm not going to bash Griner for changing her mind. If anything, I think it's terrific that she gained some perspective and new appreciation for the United States.
Now, I do think it's a bit ridiculous that she needed to go through that tumultuous event to get there, but she did eventually get there.
It's always frustrating to hear people who have had incredible success in the United States – primarily due to the fact that they were born in the US in the first place – complain about how terrible the country is.
Griner got a first-hand taste of just how some other countries handle their business, and she didn't like what she saw. Good.
WNBA star Brittney Griner, who previously protested the American National Anthem, now says she's proud to represent the United States at the Olympics.
(Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
More ungrateful Americans could certainly benefit from similar experiences. Though, I wish people would simply learn from Griner's experience and understand that the real privilege that exists is simply being born American.
How many other countries would turn someone like Brittney Griner into a national hero? How many would trade "The Merchant of Death" for a basketball player?
The answer is very few, if not none.
The United States has been very good to Brittney Griner – indeed pretty much every professional athlete – and it would be nice to see more appreciation.
Still, hopefully, the other women on Team USA follow Griner's lead and proudly put on their Red, White and Blue jerseys with pride and then stomp the competition into oblivion on their way to another gold medal.
U-S-A! U-S-A!