Brittney Griner and Wife Cherelle Welcome Their First Child

The WNBA star and her wife celebrate the arrival of their baby boy.

Brittney Griner and her wife, Cherelle Griner, are officially parents! The WNBA star and her partner welcomed their first child, a baby boy weighing 7 pounds 8 ounces, on July 8th.

In an interview with CBS Sports, Brittney shared her joy and how the arrival of her son has transformed her perspective. “That’s my man. He is amazing,” Brittney said. “They said as soon as you see them, everything that you thought mattered just goes out the window. That’s literally what happened.”

The baby’s name has not yet been revealed, but Brittney mentioned the difficulty of separating from him as she prepares for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. “It kind of sucks because I have to leave, but at the same time, he will understand,” she added.

The couple had previously announced their pregnancy on social media, five years after tying the knot. “Can’t believe we’re less than three months away from meeting our favorite human being,” they captioned a joint Instagram post.

The upcoming Olympic Games will mark Brittney’s first international travel since her arrest in December 2022 for possession of cannabis oil. She was sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison but was released after serving 10 months.

Reflecting on her ordeal, Brittney shared that she feared her marriage to Cherelle might not survive her imprisonment. “I might never see my parents again, and especially Pops [Griner’s father Ray] with his health issues,” Brittney wrote in her memoir. “My basketball career would be over. I’d be in my early forties and out of shape, would have to find a new way to provide for my wife. And Relle [Cherelle]. She assured me she’d wait, but ten years was ridiculous.”

Brittney Griner & her wife just welcomed a baby boy & she clarifies that she’s the “pops” pic.twitter.com/93GTdvw3O3

— FearBuck (@FearedBuck) July 20, 2024