Barack Obama, who served as the president of the United States from 2009 to 2017, has reacted to the news of Brittney Griner’s release from Russia.
In February, Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport for possessing less than a gram of hashish oil (cannabis is illegal in Russia). She was detained and kept in Russia to stand trial, and in August, was handed a nine-year prison sentence.
The highly-discussed and controversial saga finally came to an end on Thursday, with President Joe Biden announcing that the U.S. and Russia agreed to a swap. In exchange for letting Griner come back to the United States, the U.S. has sent well-known arms dealer and weapons smuggler Viktor Bout back to Russia.
Following Biden’s announcement, Obama announced that he was “Grateful” over Griner’s release. He also congratulated the Biden administration for getting the job done. Biden served as the Vice President of the United States during Obama’s eight years in office.
One of the most decorated and accomplished athletes in American sports, Griner is a star basketball player for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury.
The future Hall of Famer led Phoenix to the WNBA Championship in 2014. On top of that, she is a two-time league scoring champion (2017 and 2019), an eight-time blocks leader and two-time Defensive Player of the Year award winner.
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Griner has dominated the international stage as well, leading the United States women’s basketball team to Olympic gold in 2016 and 2020. She also led her country to FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup gold in 2014 and 2018.
