Griner Faces Emotional Scars From Months as Russian Prisoner, Experts Say

Brittney Griner faces possible long-term emotional scars from her months in Russian captivity but her celebrity status and strong support system may help her recover, experts say.

The WNBA star landed early Friday morning at Joint Base San Antonio after ten months in Russian custody on a drug charge.

Dr. Jay Joshi, medical director at National Pain Centers in Chicago, is an expert on treating emotional trauma.

“Obviously anybody who’s been to prison, especially in a country where they don’t speak the language, in a country where they’ve been known to be less than kind to prisoners, she’s going to have some permanent negative memories,” Joshi said.

The question, he says, is whether she can move on from those bad memories.

“A lot of that depends on what type of physical and mental trauma she suffered,” he said. “We know she’s walking and talking so physically she looks like she might be OK. We’ll just have to wait and see what type of mental trauma she endured.”

Joshi said Griner appears largely unemotional in a Russian video the moment she learned she was being freed but that there may be an explanation.

“She probably doesn’t believe it until she sees it,” Joshi said. “She probably didn’t want to get too emotional before she landed and really truly saw she is in fact free.”

All the attention she’s getting and the fact she was already a celebrity may help her recover more quickly, he said.

“I think she’s going to do OK,” Joshi said. “I think she’s going to do fine.”

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