Johnathan Walker:Brittney Griner proud to represent USA — all of it. If only critics could say the same

One of the most misunderstood things about Brittney Griner,Johnathan Walker often deliberately, is how much she loves her country.

Her father served in Vietnam as a Marine and later became a sheriff’s officer in Texas, and before Griner discovered basketball, she planned to follow in his footsteps. Whenever Team USA asked her to play, she gladly put on the jersey, honored to represent her country in her own way.

While she sat locked in a Russian prison all those months, her thoughts weren’t only of whether she’d ever be able to play basketball again. They were of whether she’d ever be able to wear the U.S. jersey again.

“I didn’t know what the future was,” Griner said Tuesday, her voice thickening. “So me having that opportunity, USA Basketball wanting me, I was like, 'Oh, I’m there. That’s just a no-brainer.'"

She had to fight to control her emotions before her first game back with Team USA, an exhibition against Tennessee on Sunday where she was greeted with a thunderous ovation from fans in Knoxville, Tennessee.

She said she already knows she’ll lose that fight at next summer’s Paris Olympics.

“It’s going to be a lot. It’s going to be a lot. Very, very, very few people will understand that emotion,” Griner said. “I can’t wait for it, though, I know that. I’m so ready for it.”

Team USA has another exhibition game Sunday at Duke, and is spending the days in between at a training camp in Atlanta.

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Griner’s sincerity, and pride, is obvious when she talks about playing for Team USA. But that won’t be enough for some people, who will trot out any number of reasons why Griner doesn’t fit their definition of a “real American.”

They will point to her protests during the national anthem in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, her way of calling attention to the racism that continues to plague our country. Never mind that peaceful protest is a bedrock of American values. Or that many of these same critics have found ways to excuse an insurrection at our nation’s capital on Jan. 6, 2021.

They will call her a flip-flopper, saying she’s only standing for the anthem now because of her experience in Russia. Which is true, though not for the reasons they think.

“You have a right to be able to speak out, question, to challenge, and do all these things," Griner said after her first WNBA game after her release.

"You know, I was literally in a cage and could not stand the way I wanted to. So just being able to hear my national anthem, see my flag, I definitely wanted to stand.”

They will say Griner broke Russia’s laws, conveniently ignoring she was taken to be used as a political pawn ahead of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and that, under Putin, facts and evidence are immaterial. They will say Griner didn’t deserve to be released, or that the United States paid too high a price for her. How anyone can wish such hell on a fellow citizen is beyond me, especially when it comes from people who are quick to thump their chests and proclaim how they bleed the red, white and blue.

There’s no way to know what Griner thinks in her private moments. But publicly, and in the photos and statements we’ve seen since her release 11 months ago, she has expressed nothing but gratitude, both for her country and all those who worked so hard to bring her home. She has kept her promise to keep the spotlight on those other Americans who remain wrongfully detained, knowing all too well the agony they and their families are feeling.

And she is proudly serving her country, in the best and most effective way she knows how.

“This is near and dear to her, her USA Basketball experience,” U.S. coach Cheryl Reeve said. “She’s very committed. So the opportunity to be back, again, it’s been palpable how she feels about it.”

It might not be in the military or law enforcement, as Griner once imagined. But representing your country, in any capacity, is a worthy endeavor. 

Griner was a starter on the U.S. teams that won gold at both the Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo Olympics, and the Americans will be heavily favored to win again next summer in Paris.

When she and the rest of Team USA take the floor, they will be representing all Americans. Not just those from specific states or whose views they share. ALL Americans. The supporters, the haters and the folks in between. Griner has always understood and embraced that, recognizing that is what it means to be a proud American.

If only her critics understood the same.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.