When Brittney Griner was furious with media interfering in her personal life: "The media can sometimes make things messier than they really are"

Brittney Griner has spent much of the past year in headlines due to her arrest, imprisonment, conviction, and eventual release from Russian prison. While Griner's marriage to Cherrelle Griner received plenty of attention as the latter looked to help bring her wife home, it is actually the second time that the Phoenix Mercury star has been married.

Griner's previous marriage was to two-time WNBA All-Star Glory Johnson, however, it was filled with controversy and ultimately led to a divorce. Following their first meeting on the court, the eight-time All-Star voiced her displeasure with the media, stating:

"The media can sometimes make things messier than they really are. I wish they would stop, honestly. It should be about the game. It's unfortunate that the media gets tied up in mine and Glory's off the court stuff. It takes away from the game and, most of all, it takes away from what all of the great players are doing on the court."

Griner added:

"There's no bad blood between us. Everyone thinks we're going at each other on the court. We're not. We actually talked about it a little bit, and everything is good. We both wish everyone would just stop."

Griner and Johnson married in May 2015 and announced that the latter was pregnant with twins just one month later. Griner would file for divorce just one day after the announcement. While their twins were born in October, their divorce was finalized in June 2016.

Watch Brittney Griner's highlights below:

Brittney Griner set to return to the Phoenix Mercury next season

While Brittney Griner was forced to miss the most recent WNBA season as a result of her arrest, the two-time WNBA Peak Performer is reportedly set to return to the Phoenix Mercury next season. While the league announced that Griner will be credited and paid for the year that she missed, resulting in her free agency, it appears to be a foregone conclusion that she will return to the team that made her the first overall pick of the 2013 WNBA Draft.

According to an exclusive with People Magazine, Griner has been medically cleared and has resumed working out with the franchise:

“At present, [Brittney Griner] is doing well and medically cleared for normal activity, according to her representatives, and has been working out with her Phoenix Mercury coaches and teammates.”

“At present, [Brittney Griner] is doing well and medically cleared for normal activity, according to her representatives, and has been working out with her Phoenix Mercury coaches and teammates.” Photo and story via @people twitter.com/people/status/… https://t.co/9aMaLiLM5o

The Mercury, who made it to the WNBA Finals in Griner's last season, will be happy to welcome their star back after they were eliminated in just two games in the season that she missed. Griner led the team in scoring, rebounds, blocks, and field-goal percentage in her last season.