Brittney Griner to miss at least two WNBA games to focus on mental health, Phoenix Mercury says

 Brittney Griner will miss an upcoming trip with the Phoenix Mercury "to focus on her mental health," the team announced Saturday. The WNBA star will miss at least two games her team is scheduled to play this week during trips to Chicago and Indiana, though the Mercury said it was still finalizing a "timeline for her return" to the court.

 

"Mercury center Brittney Griner will not travel with the team on the upcoming two-game road trip to Chicago and Indiana (July 30-August 1) to focus on her mental health. The Mercury fully supports Brittney and we will continue to work together on a timeline for her return. " the team wrote on social media on Saturday afternoon.

 

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Griner, an Olympic gold medalist and seasoned WNBA star, originally returned to the league earlier this year after being released from detention in Russia. The professional athlete was held in Russian prisons for nearly 10 months on drug charges before being released last December in a high-profile prisoner swap for an arms dealer previously imprisoned in the United States.

 

Griner re-signed with the Phoenix Mercury, the team she had played for years before her detention, in the months following her return home. She made her first official appearance this season when the Mercury faced the Los Angeles Sparks in May. About a month later, Griner played in her first All-Star Game since her return.

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"It meant everything to me," Griner told the crowd after the All-Star game, CNN reported. "I didn't think I'd be here today, honestly, but everyone sent letters, love, messages. I can still see it today with everything everyone's done. It really meant a lot to me, it gave me hope." he just made me give it up for something, so it was this league that helped me."