get back right now to the major news coming out of
Washington that we've been following the release of W.N.B.
Star Brittney Griner after nearly 300 days behind bars
in Russia dr D. Andrew Moss is a close friend of W.N.B.A.
Star Brittney Griner. She joins us now live. D'Andre
big news today. Probably some of the best news that
you've heard for a while. I'm imagining Brittany
finally coming home after 294 days in a Russian prison.
How are you feeling right now I feel relieved. Um To be
honest. Um And just to be completely open I was worrie
I didn't think that she would come home you know um
There was a moment where there wasn't a lot of movement
and they already were kind of you know tight lipped
about like the progress um that was going on behind the
scenes so I was worried that this would extend on you
know well into the new year. So to hear and to wake up
I woke up this morning my mom was calling me she said
Brittany's out Brittany's out. was like what And I
just couldn't really believe it Um But I feel relieved
that she's gonna be back with her family with Carol her
wife and she's on that plane right now. Um It just
makes the holidays even sweeter knowing that she'll be
able to spend it um home in the United States. It's
it's really um it was a nice phone call to wake up to
this morning. Absolutely. I can only imagine. And you
know, as you speak, I can hear the fear in your voice
and I can imagine how concerned you have been this
whole time while Brittany was being held in that
Russian prison. Were you able to speak with anyone in
her family Were you able to speak with Sharell I
haven't spoken with Cheryl um, because at this time
it's, it's difficult to, it's almost, there's only so
much consolidation that you can do. This is something
that we just can't imagine even if I've had people very
close to me who have been incarcerated, none to this
magnitude um, in a Russian prison. Um, it's just
something that many of us can't really relate to. So
the best thing that we could do was to only thing we
could do is uplift Brittany's voice, keep sharing
message her name via social media, um, uh, to show
support and to make sure that, um, she hasn't forgotten
about and that we continue to spread positivity um, and
love to her, her wife and her, um, other family membe
Um, but I imagine I'll connect with them um, shortly
after things kind of die down and they have their time
together, which is most important, like, you know,
there's gonna be trauma and things um, downstream
impacts of this later on. So it's time, it's best to
get in their space and to let them decompress, um,
that's the best thing I can do. Absolutely. You know, I
wanted to ask you about your own personal experie
because I understand that you have played for a
Ukrainian basketball league. Um What is the experience
like as a player who is playing for a team that is
overseas And what was going through your mind when you
had heard that she had been basically taken captive by
the Russians. You know when I played with the Ukraine,
the national team, you have to understand that the
world we live in in the United States is such a bubble.
It's such a bubble. Life exists, reality exists out
of the norms that we have here in the States and to
have that lived in experience that day to day life,
those day to day interactions and to see a glimpse of
just the the differences uh infrastructure w
cultural wise, um um basic things from grocery store
and shopping malls, um the streets and how they're paid
and just the the norms and customs of the people. I get
scary because it's the, you're unfamiliar with it. It
would be one thing to be, you know um in jail um in the
States, a place where you're familiar where people
speak the same language as you, you still don't want to
be there, but that does give you a little bit more
comfort being somewhere else, where things are just
totally different. Um So when I first heard of her
being detained, obviously I was like great worried
because they just don't share the same cultures and
values that we do as americans especially um some
like Brittany who's totally uni in her own right as
a public figure and and and and all that she
encompasses. So I was just worried that um that it
turned into exactly what had turned into a political
game. Um but but the relief is there that she's home
So it's it's just very scary just because of the
differences and the difference is you can't really
understand by just taking a trip to visit, you know, uh
holiday or vacation. No, no, we have lived there, we
know the streets by name, we eventually start speak
the language, these are lived in experiences which are
very different than just taking a holiday to Moscow or
taking a trip to Kiev. Um and so that's what makes it
so much more real um because we understand it so
closely. Um it's just very unfortunate that she even
had to go through all that. Um but we can rejoice now
that she's gonna be coming home and she's safe, she's
alive. Um and I know that that was something that we
all need to understand, like there was no guarantee
that she was gonna get out of here. There was no
guarantee that she would make it back on that plane.
You know, we're, we're talking about Vladimir Putin wh
seemingly they had a problem with some Vape cartridg
but decided to invade Ukrainian and decided to bomb
hospitals with Children in homes and schools. So there
was no guarantee that she would make it here. Um so the
relief, like, I just can't say it enough um and that's
just felt through people who don't even know Britney is
almost like you start to know her, which I think is
like tremendous um because you don't want that ever for
anyone to have to go through that Absolutely, you kn
you give us such a unique perspective as a fellow
basketball player, so it's wonderful that you're here
with us today and I'm sure Deandra that there are a lot
of things that Brittany is gonna have to do many things
on her agenda as soon as she she returns, but do you
know how soon you'll see her again Um I would imagine
it would be some time, like these next couple of month
are gonna be pivotal for her and I say that because
when something traumatic like that hits, it's almost
like, you know, grief, it comes in stages, like one
moment you can be feeling really good and ecstatic that
you're home the next moment, you're just feeling in
shambles and things start to come back to you, she has
a lot to process about only her her career as a
basketball player, but just as a woman like what And
just kind of processing all of that um in a moment in
these moments where she's no longer uh in danger, you
know, in a penal colony or in a tiny cell as tall as
she is, is going to take some time. Um I would imagine
when they can decompress when her family can get
together and she's in a better space and she's ready to
to receive community, because sometimes that takes time.
Like you have all the flood of these people and all the
supporters, not only from the w NBA community, from the
N.B.A community from other sports leagues. You have
people who weren't interested i sports at all all of a
sudden there now interested in what was going on with
Brittany just because they give a damn. So it's gonna
take some time and like we have to be sensitive to that,
I'm gonna be sensitive to that respect her. Um I would
hope sometime next year we would get together and and
as as she will with her other w NBA friends and peers,
because we all are just so happy to have her back. Um
but that's just gonna be up to her and I think that's
something we have to respect, b it will be a time and
a place for that. Uh and I think we all rejoice and and
we'll have a drink or two and and really celebrate th
fact that she's here. Absolutely. D Andrew Moss, than
you so much for your time today. We're so happy that
you will finally be able to say hello to Brittany in
person. Some great news coming out of Washington today,
Deandra Moss. We appreciate it. Thank you veronica.