In the almost two years since Brittney Griner was released from a Russian prison, she has used her platform as a WNBA All-Star to advocate for the return of other Americans detained overseas.
19 months ago, Griner was in a dark place, Griner was detained in Russia for having vape cartridges containing hash oil in her luggage.
Brittney Griner was subsequently sentenced to nine years in prison. During sentencing, Judge Anna Sotnikova said at the time she had found that Griner intentionally broke the law and also fined her 1 million rubles (which is about $16,700 USD).
Luckily for her, President Joe Biden secured her release in a prisoner swap with Russia in exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout.
In the months since Griner has had a working relationship with Joe Biden, and it is not hard to see where she is leaning politically when it comes to the upcoming election.
In 2023, Griner met President Biden at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and she stated how “amazing” it was at the time.
“Just got done meeting President Biden and it was amazing,” Griner said, via People Magazine. “It was emotional, that’s for sure. I’ll say that. It was emotional for both of us. It was especially for me.”
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The 10-time All-Star said, “He kept saying how big of a fan he was of mine and how much he loved the way I play basketball.”
Brittney Griner Bashes Donald Trump After Taking Shots At Her Russian Prison Release
Brittney Griner is on record of praising Joe Biden, but as for Donald Trump, the same could not be said.
WNBA player Brittney Griner said she was initially grateful for former President Donald Trump’s support in seeking her release, but would soon change her stance when she found it “disheartening” when the former president slammed the Biden administration for its negotiated deal with Russia.
Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social in 2022, “What kind of a deal is it to swap Brittney Griner, a basketball player who openly hates our Country, for the man known as ‘The Merchant of Death,’ who is one of the biggest arms dealers anywhere in the World, and responsible for tens of thousands of deaths and horrific injuries. Why wasn’t former Marine Paul Whelan included in this totally one-sided transaction? He would have been let out for the asking. What a ‘stupid’ and unpatriotic embarrassment for the USA!!!”
Griner told MSNBC host Joy Reid that she felt that Donald Trump was “almost” using her as a political pawn.
“I was already being used as a pawn,” Griner said, referencing previous comments made about feeling Russian President Vladimir Putin was making the most of her hostage situation. “Then to turn around and publicly be used, almost be used again as a pawn, you know, here in the states with his administration. You know, it was disheartening. It was like, really? At my lowest point, you want to try to use this as a game, and then when it doesn’t work or someone tells you not to do it, whatever happened, now you want to flip it. It’s like, really? Really, guy? Come on.”
