Did Brittney Griner Really Kneel During Olympics 2024? 

Brittney Griner has been a controversial figure in the American Basketball circuit and even though she is in Paris for the Olympics, she is trending for wrong reasons.

Brittney Griner

WNBA star Brittney Griner is one of the most controversial basketball players in the world right now. Her statements regarding the national anthem have always put her in trouble with the fans of the game and the country. As she is in Paris for the Olympics with the USA’s Women’s basketball team, she has gone viral for allegedly kneeling during the Olympics. But how true is that news?

There is nothing on social media that suggests that Griner kneeled during the Olympics. The WNBA star has headed back to Europe for the first time since her notorious Russian detainment in 2022, as part of Team USA’s 12-person roster for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

But that isn’t the only major news Griner is providing before these Olympics.  For polarizing superstar made waves in 2020 when she said, “I’m not going to be out there for the national anthem. If the (WNBA) continues to want to play it, that’s fine. It will be all season long; I’ll not be out there.

However, as revealed in an exclusive interview with the Associated Press, Griner has since recanted that contentious statement. After being selected for the U.S. women’s basketball team for the Olympics in June, Griner couldn’t contain her enthusiasm to once again represent her country.

“It means everything to me honestly,” Griner said about playing for Team USA. “For me to now have the honor to wear it again and potentially win gold is icing on the cake for everything.”
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“Hopefully, everything goes the way we want it to go and that anthem’s playing,” Griner said of the U.S. hoping to win an eighth straight gold medal in Paris. “It’s going to be way more emotional this time.”

It seems that since 2020, Griner’s opinion on the National Anthem has evolved significantly. Many people questioned whether Griner would ever travel abroad after her imprisonment in Russia. She saw the Olympics as the ideal opportunity to depart the country “on my terms.” It’s interesting to note that Griner discussed how hearing the national anthem “hit differently” after her time in Russia when she returned to the WNBA last season.

The Phoenix Mercury center was in flying form before the Olympics started. She has averaged 18.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game so far. She will be hoping to add more to the numbers after the Olympics and in the meantime win a gold medal for her country.