Cherelle Watson is WNBA superstar Brittney Griner’s wife. Watson got engaged to Griner in August 2018 and the couple married in June 2019.
On March 5, news emerged from Russia that Griner, 31, had been arrested in a Moscow airport on drug charges after customs officials claimed to have found vape pens loaded with hash oil in her luggage.
Griner played in Russia during the WNBA off-season. Officials in Russia say that the charges being leveled at Griner could carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. Her arrest comes amidst Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an invasion that has been widely condemned.
The Phoenix Mercury said in a statement that they are in contact with Griner’s family.
Watson is Griner’s second wife. In 2015, Griner was married for less than three months to fellow WNBA star Glory Johnson. During the couple’s engagement, Griner was arrested and accused of domestic violence against Johnson. Griner agreed to 26 weeks of domestic violence counseling as part of a plea deal, USA Today reported at the time.
Johnson and Griner married less than a month after the alleged domestic violence incident. However, less than three months into the marriage, the couple split with Griner seeking an anullment. The announcement of their breakup came as Johnson confirmed that she was pregnant with twins. According to Griner, Johnson was impregnated via in vitro fertilization.
Griner and Watson met each other while they were students at Baylor University
Watson and Griner met while both students at Baylor University. According to her LinkedIn page, Watson attended Baylor University between 2010 and 2014 where she majored in political science and government. Watson’s minor was family and child studies. Watson is in her third year of studying for a law degree at the University of North Carolina School of Law.
Watson describes herself on her Instagram page as a “Believer” and “Wife.” Watson says that she is focused on “empowering women and teens to self-actualization.” On that page, it’s evident that Watson has adopted Griner’s last name.
Watson no longer posts on the Facebook page that bares her maiden name and has switched her activity over to a page that bares the name Cherelle Griner. Watson said on her original Facebook page that her hometown is Little Rock, Arkansas.
Watson said in a December 2021 post that Griner had returned home from Russia
Watson has not posted on that page since uploading pictures of her and Griner baking during the holiday season in December 2021. Watson said in a December 21 post that Griner had returned home from Russia.
Previously, Watson worked as a teacher at the Uplift Academy in Phoenix, Arizona. In a December 2021 Instagram post, Watson said that she was a “former educator.”
Watson added, “I’m currently a wife balancing school as I’m in my third year of law school. My career focal point is to decrease the disparate rate in which African American children are pushed into the juvenile system through the school-to-prison pipeline!”
Watson wrote a blog in 2021 about what it meant to be a teacher, writing in part, “Teaching is a job that makes you indispensable. The bonds made inside my classroom were not sufficient for just a day; they reside inside my students and myself for a lifetime.”
Watson did her law degree classes online in 2020 so she could be in the WNBA bubble with Griner
In June 2020, Griner told The Arizona Republic that Watson was behind her decision to enter into a COVID-19 inspired isolation bubble in order to finish out the WNBA season.
Griner said that Watson had given up a “great internship” so that the couple could be together in the bubble. The Republic said that Watson was going to do her law school classes online from within the bubble.
Griner said, “I’m very thankful and very lucky she could do that for us. It’s kind of working out perfect (with online classes) so she can stay.”
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