Griner Out of Olympic? Team USA Shuts down Social Media Frenzy

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No, Brittney Griner has not been kicked off Team USA | Fact check

The claim: Brittney Griner was ‘booted’ from Team USA

A June 18 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a picture of WNBA player Brittney Griner wearing a Nike T-shirt with the word “USA” on it.

The text at the bottom of the picture reads, “Britney (sic) Griner Booted from Team USA for Misconduct: ‘We Can’t Allow That Kind of Behavior – The World is Watching.’”

The Facebook user writes in the caption: “This paves the way for Caitlin Clark to join the team. It also makes the team much more respectable.”

Other Facebook posts shared the same headline, including one that was shared more than 200 times before it was deleted.

Griner has said her time in a Russian prison changed her stance on the national anthem, though. She was arrested at an airport in the country when vape cartridges with hashish oil were allegedly found in her luggage. She was imprisoned for 10 months before the U.S. government arranged her release in a prisoner swap for an arms dealer.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.