brittany griner Was arrested at a Russian airport in 2022 after it was discovered that she had cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage when she returned to the country to play basketball.
Griner blamed a “mental lapse” on keeping the cartridges in his luggage and flying in a country where marijuana and medical cannabis are still against the law. He was held in prison from February to December before becoming part of a prisoner exchange arms dealer viktor bout,
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
This combo of images shows WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner in a courtroom before the hearing of suspected Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, left, in Khimki at a criminal court in Bangkok on August 20, 2010. , outside Moscow, on July 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Epichart Weerawong, left, and Alexander Zemlianichenko, file)
The WNBA star spoke to Robin Roberts on ABC’s “Good Morning America” about her detention. An excerpt from the interview aired on Monday, with the full segment released on Wednesday. Roberts asked Griner what she had to say to skeptics who could not believe that she had simply forgotten that she had cartridges.
“I’d say, ‘Have you ever forgotten your keys in your car, left your car running? Have you ever (asked) where my glasses are, and they’re over your head? Where’s my phone? Oh, I have it in my pocket.’ “It’s very easy to have a mental lapse,” the Phoenix Mercury Center said.
“Granted, my mental lapses were massive, but that doesn’t explain how this could have happened.”
WNBA champion Candace Parker announces retirement after 16 seasons
Former Baylor Bears player Brittany Griner, right, and Baylor Bears head coach Nikki Collen in a ceremony to retire Griner’s jersey before the game between the Baylor Bears and the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Foster Pavilion on February 18, 2024 in Waco, Texas Express reaction during. , (Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
Roberts also asked what was going through Griner’s mind while he was being searched.
“All that stuff I won’t watch. I’m thinking about my wife,” she said. “Wondering what my family is going to think, what public opinion is going to think, too. All I can see now is the headlines, like I can just imagine all the things I worked so hard for falling apart. Be destroyed.
“And to be in a place where there is no understanding. In America, I can explain what happened, how it happened. I didn’t plan on doing this. It was a mistake. It was an accident. I understand That accidents have consequences, but there is nothing.
Brittany Griner watches during the second half of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament Final Four semifinal game between the UConn Huskies and the Iowa Hawkeyes at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on April 5, 2024 in Cleveland. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Click here to get the Fox News app
Griner returned to the Mercury last season. He was an all-star For the eighth time in his career.
Follow Fox News Digital sports coverage on x and subscribe Fox News Sports Huddle Newsletter,