Brittney Griner: I'm Not Leaving US Soil Again

Brittney Griner held her first press conference Thursday since being freed from Russian detention in December, and she made a pledge few could fault: "I'm never going overseas to play again unless I'm representing my country at the Olympics," the WNBA star told reporters in Phoenix, per People. "If I make that team, that would be the only time I would leave the US soil." The 32-year-old now plays for the league's Phoenix Mercury. Other topics:

• Money: Griner said she previously traveled to Russia to play in order to make extra money. “A lot of us go over there to make an income, to support our families, to support ourselves," she said, per CNN. "So I don’t knock any player that wants to go overseas ... to make a little bit extra money." She said she hoped the WNBA would grow, making it possible for players to make more and avoid that necessity.

• Gershkovich: Griner said her management team has been in contact with the family of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was detained by Russia in late March. Her team has been "sharing knowledge" with the reporter's family, she said, per the New York Times. “It goes a long way because I mean, you’re in foreign territory and you’re in unknown waters. So there’s a lot ... that we might know that they didn’t know so there’s been a lot of communication between both teams.”
• Choked up: The first question from a reporter, about where Griner found the "resiliency" to endure her detention, caused Griner to choke up, notes TMZ, which has video.

(More Brittney Griner stories.)