WNBA player Brittney Griner speaks after arriving back in the United States
Although she hasn’t appeared publicly, since touching down on United States soil and being reunited with her family members after being detained in a Russian penal colony, WNBA player Brittney Griner spoke out on Instagram thanking President Joe Biden for his efforts to bring her home.
“President Biden, you brought me home and I know you are committed to bringing Paul Whelan and all Americans home too.
“I will use my platform to do whatever I can to help you.
“I also encourage everyone that played a part in bringing me home to continue their efforts to bring all Americans home. Every family deserves to be whole,” stated Griner.
In the same post, Griner makes it clear that she intends to return to the WNBA as soon as possible.
“I also want to make one thing very clear: I intend to play basketball for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury this season, and in doing so, I look forward to being able to say ‘thank you’ to those of you who advocated, wrote, and posted for me in person soon.”
Griner was detained at a Russian airport on her way into the country to play basketball for the team back in February of 2022. She had less than one gram of cannabis oil in her luggage and was detained on drug charges. The WNBA player was subsequently found guilty of said charges and then sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony.
At the time of her sentencing, President Biden began talks with Russia to trade her freedom for a person of interest in U.S. custody. The U.S. tried advocating for her release, in conjunction with another American detainee, Paul Whelan. Whelan is in Russian custody serving a 25-year sentence after being convicted of spying, however, Russia made it very clear that if a deal was to be made, it would only include the WBNA player.
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Featured image: Brian Snyder/Reuters
