Brittney Griner Couldn't Hold Back the Tears

Brittney Griner let the tears roll during the national anthem Sunday after Team USA won another gold medal in women's basketball. As Candace Buckner writes in the Washington Post, the 33-year-old didn't have much choice. "Because her right hand was over her heart and she held a Paris Olympics poster in a cardboard box in her left, Griner had no way to wipe her reddened, wet eyes." Instead, she just let the tears flow, reports the AP.

"My country fought for me to get back," Griner, who was freed from a Russian prison in December 2022, told reporters afterward, per Time. "And I was able to bring home gold for my country. There's just no greater feeling." Griner said she took a moment to compose herself before the medal ceremony by retreating to a bathroom. She figured she "would get a little red-eyed" during the ceremony, but the tears surprised even her.

Understandable, writes Buckner. "Griner can now be proud of a country that hasn't always loved people like her back," she writes. "When anyone from a marginalized group feels accepted, that they're worth being loved and protected and fought for, that's when the tears flow." USA Basketball also took note in this tweet. "This is your moment," it reads. "Take a bow, BG." (More Brittney Griner stories.)