WNBA star files for annulment from pregnant wife

WNBA standout Brittney Griner filed papers to have her 29-day-old marriage to Glory Johnson annulled.

“Last Wednesday, Glory and I agreed to either legally separate, get divorced, or annul our marriage,” Griner said in a statement released Friday. “I can confirm that today I filed for an annulment. In the week prior to the wedding, I attempted to postpone the wedding several times until I completed counseling, but I still went through with it. I now realize that was a mistake.”

Johnson, who also plays for the WNBA’s Tulsa Shock, told TMZ that she was surprised by the news that Griner had filed the annulment paperwork.

The two were married on May 8, three weeks after both were arrested in Arizona on domestic violence charges.

Griner, a member of the Phoenix Mercury, agreed to plead guilty to disorderly conduct and entered a diversion program. When she completes the program, the charge will be erased from her record.

Johnson’s case is still pending, and she must reach a plea agreement or go to court.

The WNBA suspended Griner and Johnson for seven games apiece for the domestic altercation.

Griner’s announcement that she was filing for annulment comes one day after Johnson announced on Instagram that she is pregnant. The Tulsa Shock announced that Johnson would miss the 2015 WNBA season because of the pregnancy. That means her suspension will begin next season.

“It has always been a dream of mine to start a family with someone I love,” Johnson said in a statement provided by the team. “Being a professional athlete that plays year round, there is never a perfect time to get pregnant without putting my career on hold. The entire process, from learning our fertility options, to making sacrifices necessary nine months before the child is born, is merely preparing me to become a great wife and an even better mother.”

Johnson suggested in a Sports Illustrated article this week that she was the victim of the altercation.

“I’m not going to throw Brittney under the bus … and she’s not going to throw me under the bus … (but) what the (WNBA) did not say in the statements they released was that I pled not guilty,” Johnson told Sports Illustrated. “… So for them to release a statement saying that we were both guilty in the situation, it’s not right. It’s not correct. … Brittney pled guilty … Brittney understands why I pled not guilty, and I understand why she pled guilty. … She was even willing to speak to whoever she needed to, to get the point across.”