Brittney Griner, whose WNBA team stated she won’t travel for a Chicago matchup, became the most well-known athlete to prioritize mental health on Saturday.
The Phoenix Mercury announced that Griner wouldn’t travel with the team for its two-game road trip against the Chicago Sky from Sunday through Tuesday.
Her decision to withdraw is “to prioritize her mental health,” the team tweeted.
The three-champion Mercury stated, “The Mercury fully endorses Brittney and we are going to continue to work closely on a timeline for her return.”
After being apprehended at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport in February 2022 after security staff discovered vape canisters with cannabis oil in her luggage, Griner, 32, spent several months in Russian jail. The star center claimed she brought the materials accidentally and later claimed to have used the drug to speed up the healing of wounds.
As part of a prisoner swap orchestrated by the Biden administration, Griner endured a nine-year sentence in prison in August and released in December.
Griner was being held in custody while on contract with UMMC Ekaterinburg in Yekaterinburg, Russia, which served as her base during the WNBA off-season.
Griner is the most well-known athlete to date to give mental health as a reason for skipping competitions or taking a sabbatical in the intensely competitive world of professional sports.
Black women at the top of their fields have recently contributed to the conversation regarding mental health as an important and shame-free aspect of human wellness.
Tennis sensation Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open in 2021 after the tournament’s officials rejected her requests to forego media appearances in the interest of her mental health. She later withdrew from Wimbledon and at the time held the No. 2 ranking in the world.
Later, the U.S. Open said that players will have access to quiet areas and credentialed mental health professionals.
The 24-year-old superstar gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from a number of events in the Tokyo Olympics that year, citing mental health. She also disclosed that she has taken anxiety medicine and seen a psychotherapist.