Brittney Griner, a prominent American basketball player and two-time Olympic gold medalist, was arrested on February 17, 2022, at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport after Russian authorities found less than a gram of hashish oil in vape cartridges in her luggage .

Griner explained that the cartridges were packed accidentally while she was rushing to catch her flight back to Russia, where she played for UMMC Ekaterinburg during the WNBA offseason to supplement her income, a common practice among WNBA players due to lower domestic salaries .

Despite the minor nature of the offense, she was charged with drug possession and trafficking, offenses that could carry up to ten years in prison under Russian law .

On August 4, 2022, a Russian court sentenced Griner to nine years in a penal colony, a sentence widely regarded as excessively harsh and politically motivated, especially given the timing just before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine .

The political implications of Griner’s arrest were immediate and profound.

Her detention occurred amid rapidly deteriorating U.S.-Russia relations, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine commencing just days after her arrest .

officials quickly labeled her detention as “wrongful,” a designation that signaled the U.S.

government’s belief that Griner was being used as a political pawn rather than being subject to a fair legal process .

The Biden administration faced intense domestic and international pressure to secure her release, as her case became emblematic of the broader risks faced by Americans abroad and the use of high-profile individuals in geopolitical bargaining .

Griner’s wife, Cherelle, and her legal team described her as a “political pawn,” underscoring the perception that her arrest was intended to provide Russia with leverage in diplomatic negotiations .

government’s efforts to free Griner were extensive and highly publicized.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held direct discussions about her case, a rare diplomatic engagement since the onset of the Ukraine conflict .

proposed a prisoner swap, offering Viktor Bout—a notorious Russian arms dealer serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S.

for conspiracy to kill Americans—in exchange for Griner .

The negotiations were complex and protracted, with the U.S.

government also seeking the release of Paul Whelan, another American detained in Russia, but ultimately only Griner was included in the final agreement .

On December 8, 2022, Griner was released in a high-profile prisoner swap for Bout, a move that drew mixed reactions in the U.S.

and sparked debate about the ethics and implications of such exchanges .

Griner’s experiences in the Russian penitentiary system were marked by harsh and often inhumane conditions.

She was incarcerated in a penal colony in Mordovia, a region notorious for its severe climate and prison conditions, including inadequate heating, limited hot water, and reports of forced labor and abuse .

Her attorney noted that the prison bed was uncomfortably small for her 6’9” frame, and Griner faced significant psychological distress, expressing fears of being forgotten and describing her time in prison as terrifying and traumatic .

She struggled with language barriers, relying on Google Translate to communicate with authorities, and testified that her rights were not explained to her upon detention .

Griner’s identity as a Black, openly gay woman heightened concerns for her safety and well-being, given the rising anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in Russia and the vulnerability of marginalized individuals in such environments .

The American government’s response to Griner’s detention was shaped by both public advocacy and diplomatic strategy.

The case attracted widespread attention from fans, athletes, and advocacy groups, with the WNBA and its players rallying around Griner and using her case to highlight the need for better protections for athletes abroad .

Social media campaigns, such as #WeAreBG, played a crucial role in keeping her story in the public eye and maintaining pressure on the U.S.

government to act .

Prominent sports figures and celebrities, including LeBron James and Stephen Curry, publicly advocated for her release, amplifying the call for action .

The administration’s decision to exchange Griner for Bout was met with both celebration and criticism, with some arguing that the deal set a dangerous precedent and others expressing disappointment that Paul Whelan remained imprisoned .

Upon her return to the United States, Griner underwent medical and mental health evaluations at a reintegration facility, reflecting the psychological toll of her nearly ten months in Russian custody .

She and her wife, Cherelle, focused on healing and rebuilding their lives, with Griner expressing a renewed appreciation for life and her career, stating, “I appreciate everything a little bit more now...

tomorrow is not guaranteed” .

Griner re-signed with the Phoenix Mercury for the 2023 WNBA season and began light workouts, signaling her intention to return to professional basketball while taking time to fully recover .

She also announced plans to publish a memoir in spring 2024, aiming to raise awareness about the experiences of Americans detained overseas and the broader issues at the intersection of sports, gender, and international politics .

Griner’s case has had a significant cultural and social impact, sparking important conversations about the intersection of race, gender, and sexuality in sports.

As a Black, openly gay woman, her situation drew attention to the unique vulnerabilities faced by marginalized athletes, especially in hostile international environments .

The WNBA community and broader networks mobilized strongly in support of Griner, with over 1,200 Black women leaders publicly calling on President Biden to expedite efforts to secure her release .

Her return to the league was met with significant media attention and fanfare, symbolizing resilience and triumph over adversity .

Griner’s story has become emblematic of the disparities in how athletes are treated based on race and gender, with many commentators noting that a white male athlete might have received a more urgent response from the government and media .

The broader implications of Griner’s detention and release extend to the experiences of other Americans detained abroad.

Her case is part of a pattern in which American citizens, including athletes and educators, are detained under dubious circumstances and used as leverage in international disputes .

government’s efforts to secure the release of Americans like Trevor Reed and Marc Fogel have faced similar challenges, highlighting the complexities of international diplomacy and the role of public profile and identity in influencing advocacy and government action .

Griner has used her platform to advocate for other wrongfully detained Americans, encouraging collective action and support for those still imprisoned .

In summary, Brittney Griner’s story illustrates the complex intersection of sports, gender issues, and international politics.

Her arrest and harsh treatment in the Russian prison system highlighted the vulnerabilities of American citizens abroad and the ways in which governments can use high-profile individuals as leverage in political negotiations .

government’s efforts to secure her release, the public advocacy that kept her case in the spotlight, and her adjustment to life after release all underscore the enduring impact of geopolitical conflicts on individual lives and the urgent need for systemic changes in how athletes are treated and protected abroad [b30f761d_1

Brittney Griner, a prominent American basketball player and two-time Olympic gold medalist, was arrested on February 17, 2022, at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport after Russian authorities found less than a gram of hashish oil in vape cartridges in her luggage .

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Content: Ukraine live briefing: Biden stresses U.S. support for Kyiv; Strikes in Russian-occupied Melitopol

President Biden underlined the United States’ ongoing support for Ukraine during a weekend call with President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as efforts to strengthen Kyiv’s air defenses against tactical strikes by Russia on civilian infrastructure. Biden vowed during the call to hold Russia accountable for war crimes and atrocities, and impose “costs on Russia for its aggression,” according to an official White House readout. He welcomed Zelensky’s stated openness to a “just peace.”

Moscow-backed officials accused Ukrainian forces of using HIMARS rockets to attack the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol over the weekend. Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.

1. Key developments

  • The exiled Ukrainian mayor of Melitopol said the attack hit a church seized by Russian troops for use as a base several months ago. Ivan Fedorov estimated that as many as 200 Russian troops were injured or killed, while Yevgeny Balitsky, the pro-Moscow acting governor of the region, said two people were killed and 10 wounded. His claims could not be independently verified by The Washington Post. Such tolls have often been inflated by Ukraine and undercounted by Russia in the war.
  • Fallout from the prisoner swap of Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout and WNBA star Brittney Griner has continued, with some U.S. conservatives angry that American negotiators could not land a deal for Paul Whelan, the former Marine serving a 16-year prison sentence in Russia on espionage charges. Former president Donald Trump said Sunday on Truth Social that he turned down a deal to release Whelan in exchange for Bout when he was in office. “I wouldn’t have made the deal for a hundred people in exchange for someone that has killed untold numbers of people with his arms deals,” Trump said.

2. Battleground updates

  • Western military experts say Russia is firing larger batches of missiles against Ukraine, which risks depleting Kyiv’s stockpiles of interceptor missiles. Dara Massicot, a senior policy researcher at Rand Corp., wrote in a thread on Twitter that Russia is trying to “confuse and overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses.” Gen. Sergei Surovikin, Russia’s top commander of the war in Ukraine, has been shoring up Russia’s defensive positions, she said, and mounting the terrible yet effective campaign to knock out critical infrastructure — a Russian military strategy deployed in past conflicts.
  • Russian forces have made marginal territorial gains around Bakhmut, according to the Institute for the Study of War think tank. Ukraine’s armed forces said in a Facebook post that Russia “continues to make attempts to break through the defense of our troops.” More than two dozen settlements were fired upon Sunday, they wrote. The Post was unable to verify those claims.
  • Moscow is unlikely to make significant advances in the next few months, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said in its Monday update. It said Russia’s goal is to extend control over each of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, with a particular emphasis on advancing through Donetsk. “It is highly unlikely that the Russian military is currently able to generate an effective striking force capable of retaking these areas,” the ministry said.

3. Global impact

  • Brittney Griner is now part of a small club nobody wants to join: Americans who were formerly wrongfully imprisoned or held hostage abroad. Many have found kinship with one another while readjusting to life back home.
  • Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin had separate phone calls Sunday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Reuters reported that Erdogan and Putin discussed a deal to secure grain exports from Ukraine and Russia — a lack of grain from two of the world’s largest producers could mean famine, especially in Africa and the Middle East. Zelensky posted on Telegram that his chat with Erdogan also revolved around grain.
  • “There is no inherent need for NATO to be drawn into a conflict,” British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in an interview on the BBC’s “Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg,” adding that the Western military alliance posed no threat to Russia. “Ultimately, it’s Vladimir Putin who issues the escalatory language,” he said. Cleverly’s remarks follow those by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who warned in an interview with Norway’s public broadcaster that the conflict in Ukraine could become “a major war” between NATO and Russia if things go wrong, and “we are working every day to avoid that.”

4. From our correspondents

Ukrainian MP who idolizes former president Reagan tries to win over today’s Republicans: Maryan Zablotskyy grew up venerating Ronald Reagan in Lviv, in western Ukraine — as many did in the post-Soviet years.

Now a member of parliament, Zablotskyy, 37, faces the prospect that the Republicans, the party of his favorite American politician, could turn against Ukraine in its moment of greatest need — under invasion and relentless bombing by Russia, with about one-fifth of its land occupied and its economy in tatters, writes Jeff Stein from Kyiv.

“What I can do is explain that Ukraine is important to the whole world, and that we fight for values and ideals that should be equally important to both parties,” Zablotskyy said in an interview.

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Content: Brittney Griner is ‘OK’ Despite Russian Extended Detention for Drug Charge

0
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  • Brittney Griner is “OK”Insider heard from a source that the Russian jail was holding him, even though he was not in it.
  • The WNBA star has met with her legal team “multiple times a week,”Source added
  • Russia announced that Griner’s imprisonment would be extended to May on Friday.

Brittney Griner — the WNBA superstar who has been held in Russia for several weeks — is doing “OK”Insider was told by a source familiar with the situation that Russian prisoners are being held in Russian prisons.

Since February 17, Russian agents took custody of the 6-foot-9 center. They claimed that she had vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage. Insider has heard from a source who said that Griner’s had been in custody for the center since February 17th, when agents at Sheremetyevo airport claimed she found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage. “Russian legal team has seen her multiple times a week.”

Griner was handcuffed at a Moscow court one month after her arrest. This was as her legal team challenged her ongoing detention.

Insider was told by a source that Griner’s legal team approached the hearing on Thursday “with the hopes of having Brittney transferred to house arrest.” Instead, the court ruled that the two-time Olympic gold medalist must remain in custody until at least May 19 — a decision that “was not unexpected,”According to the source.

The person — who is familiar with Griner’s legal circumstances but spoke on the condition of anonymity out of concern for Griner’s continued safety — stressed that Thursday’s proceedings were “not a hearing on the merits”She was convicted of a drug-related offense and is facing a maximum term of 10 years imprisonment.

“The investigation is still ongoing,”According to the source. “Once it has concluded, a trial date will be set. Until then, the court extends detention by periods of time.”

“If the investigation is not finished, the May hearing is to contemplate how much longer the court needs to extend,”They were also added.

Russian media outlet TASSGriner complained Thursday that her only grievance while in captivity is that the beds in her jail cell were too small for Griner, who stands 6’9″. Griner shares a cell in which she is confined with two other inmates who both speak English and have assisted her to navigate the situation.

Griner had been traveling to Russia in the days preceding her arrest to play for European powerhouse club UMMC Ekaterinburg. She’d done this every WNBA offseason since 2014.

Around half of WNBA athletes travel abroad in winter to play. Their relatively low salaries can be supplementedFrom the domestic league. Stars can earn significantly more abroad than they could in the States, and Griner is a prime example of this pay gap.

The seven-time WNBA All-Star is expected to bring home a trophy this year. League-maximum base salary of $227,900From the Phoenix Mercury. She’s eligible to earn more through bonuses and marketing opportunities if her stay in the US is for the winter. According to reports, she is paid $1 million per season by the UMMC Ekaterinburg. Jeff Metcalfe of the Arizona Republic.

This two-season-per year lifestyle is not ideal, even under normal circumstances. Griner, an athlete, often finds themselves with nagging injuries and rapid wear and tear that can hinder their professional careers.

But during moments of international crisis — like the early days of the pandemic or right now, as Russia wages war in Ukraine — WNBA players taking on second jobs overseas becomes all the more perilous. Griner could be a collateral victim of the fiery feud between the two superpowers due to the rapidly changing relationship between her country and her off-season home.

Antony Blinken Secretary of State said that the US is prepared to deal with any situation geopolitical. “provide every possible assistance”Griner and other detained citizens abroad per ESPN

“There’s only so much I can say given the privacy considerations at this point,”Griner was mentioned by Blinken. “Whenever an American is detained anywhere in the world, we of course stand ready to provide every possible assistance, and that includes in Russia.”

Griner explained that the cartridges were packed accidentally while she was rushing to catch her flight back to Russia, where she played for UMMC Ekaterinburg during the WNBA offseason to supplement her income, a common practice among WNBA players due to lower domestic salaries .

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Content: Breaking News
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Brittney Griner's prison swap deal brings praise, criticism among East Texans

WNBA star Brittney Griner is free and on her way home today after spending months in a Russian prison.

TYLER, Texas — WNBA star Brittney Griner is finally released from Russian prison after she was sentenced for possession of cannabis oil.

The athletic community in Tyler feels personally touched by her return.

"Brittney Griner is one of those public figures that we know personally through sports and through being an African American female and African American athlete, through playing pro basketball and playing overseas, too. So her story kind of touched me in a different way", said Tyler Junior College women's basketball head coach Trenia Tellis Hoard.

This return home was able to happen through a prison swap deal for Viktor Bout. Texas politicians are raising concerns for not including former Marine Paul Whelan in this swap.

"I am concerned that the individual who was traded for Brittney Griner is someone who was actually an arms dealer who was selling arms to people who want to kill Americans. That's very dangerous," said State Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler.

For Tellis Hoard, this serves as a lesson for her team to learn from. And as for Whelan’s future, all we can do is hope he finds freedom like Britney Griner has.

"President Biden said that they will continue to try to bring Paul home in my prayers that that will happen." Schaefer said.

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National News

VSU Coach Among Black Women Showing Support For Griner

By Leonard E. Colvin
Chief Reporter
New Journal and Guide

A group of over 1,200-plus Black women leaders of various religious, political, and social backgrounds, are calling on President Joseph R. Biden’s to ramp up efforts to free WNBA star Brittney Griner from detainment in Russia.

In a letter to Biden and Vice President Harris, the #WinWithBlackWomen collective urged the administration to “make a deal to get Brittney back home swiftly and safely and to meet with Brittney’s wife Cherelle immediately.”

The signatories include multiple WNBA players, WNBA Players Association Executive Director Terri Jackson, and several university coaches, including Nadine Domond, head coach for women’s basketball at Virginia State University, who also signed the letter.

Domond was recently interviewed on National Public Radio’s (NPR) “All Things Considered” by host Juana Summers.

Summers asked Domond, who is a friend of Griner, about her reaction to what was happening during her trial and imprisonment in Russia.

“Heartbroken. She could be sentenced to up 10 years in a Russian prison,” Domond said. “That’s tough. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. So, I’m just keeping her in my prayers, to give her the strength and the courage and the wisdom as she walks through this – you know, this valley. So many other supporters are just with her in spirit, trying to make sure she’s OK.”

Summer asked, “Why do you think it has not gotten enough attention?”

“Because I think for many people, it’s like, what do you mean? She’s overseas” Domond said.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

“What is she doing overseas? Why is she going overseas? So, there are so many unanswered questions that many average Americans want to know.”

Two weeks ago, Griner, during the second phase of her trial admitted guilt to the charges. She said she was packing, hurriedly and did not intend to include the Hashish Smokeless cartridges in her baggage or break Russians laws.

On July 15 Griner presented a doctor’s letter recommending medical cannabis treatment to a Russian court.

Griner, the Gay, superstar female star of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), has been in a Russian jail for over four months.

The six-foot-nine center for the Phoenix Mercury helped the team earn a championship in 2014. She has two gold Olympic medals to her name. Griner was jailed for carrying used Hashish oil cartridges in one of her bags as she was attempted to leave Russia back in February.

“People don’t know that many former WNBA players or WNBA players work year-round,” Domond continued. “She is going to Russia to make another living, to continue her living. And to be detained on something that – to me, I don’t know their rules, but I know Brittney wouldn’t do anything to break the law on purpose. I know Brittney wouldn’t do anything to step outside the boundaries of what is expected of her.”

Read the entire story in New Journal and Guide.

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Despite the minor nature of the offense, she was charged with drug possession and trafficking, offenses that could carry up to ten years in prison under Russian law .

Title:

Content: Brittney Griner’s Wife, Cherelle, Makes First Social Media Post Since WNBA Star’s Return

by Jonathan Howard

Brittney Griner is home and her wife Cherelle is relieved to have her back. She had a lot of people to thank as she broke her silence online. On Monday, Cherelle made her first social media post since Griner returned to the United States. This is an emotional time for the family.

As Brittney Griner has settled back into her life here in the states, Cherelle was thanking all of the people that helped make it possible. Griner was held in Russia for months for possessing vape pen cartridges. When an agreement on her release was made, she had been living at a Russian penal colony.

On Instagram, Cherelle was thankful for a lot of folks.

“Yesterday my heart was made whole thanks to the collective efforts of MANY!” she wrote. “I’m humbled by their hearts. To care for another, a stranger to some, a friend to some – is humanity in its purest form! As BG and I start our journey to heal our minds, bodies, and spirits – I wanted to personally say thank you to some of the hands; seen and unseen, that helped make it possible for me to see my wife again!”

In her post, she thanked the Biden Administration as well as various members of congress. While thanking all those involved, Cherelle also thanked Paul Whelan’s family.

“I appreciate each and every one of you – Let’s continue to use our hands, voices, platforms, and resources to bring Paul and all Americans home. All families deserve to be whole!” the post ended.

Brittney Griner Returns to Basketball Workouts

While Brittney Griner is a lot of things, she is a basketball player. So, she’s already back to practicing and the WNBA forward has still got it. During her detainment and imprisonment in Russia, Griner was offered the chance to practice playing basketball. However, given her situation, it didn’t feel right.

ESPN reported that Griner had a light workout and was able to dunk a basketball. She has not made a decision on when or if she will return to basketball as a professional. After the 10 months that she has been through, it is no surprise that she is taking time to make this decision.

The entire basketball world is behind Brittney Griner. She has had a lot of support from the NBA and WNBA. When it comes time to make that decision, she will make it. Until then, it’s just about getting back to her normal life.

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Griner testifies in Russia as U.S. offers deal

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STORY: U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner testified in a Russian court Wednesday that her rights weren't read when she was detained at a Moscow airport in February

"No, my rights were never read to me. No one explained any of it to me."

Griner is on trial for drug charges that could cost her up to 10 years in prison.

The 31-year-old WNBA star plays in Russia during the league's offseason. She was detained when agents found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.

Griner said in court Wednesday that she was not provided with an interpreter and did not understand what papers she was made to sign.

"I can only assume they were about the search and the cartridges. We had to use my phone and Google Translate for him to be able to tell me a little bit."

Griner pleaded guilty earlier in the trial but denied she intended to break Russian law.

She said on Wednesday that she still did not understand how the vape cartridges could have ended up in her luggage, saying she had packed hurriedly and could accidentally have included them.

Griner said she had been prescribed medical cannabis in the US to treat chronic injuries - but it is illegal in Russia.

The case against her has highlighted strained relations between Russia and the United States that have plunged to their lowest since the Cold War over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. officials say Griner has been wrongly detained and called for her immediate release.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the US had made a "substantial offer" to bring home Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia of spying.

"We want to see those who are wrongfully detained be released and be able to return home. At the same time, it's important that we work to reinforce the global norm against these arbitrary detentions."

The Kremlin has said the case against her has nothing to do with politics and that she should be tried for violating Russian law.

On August 4, 2022, a Russian court sentenced Griner to nine years in a penal colony, a sentence widely regarded as excessively harsh and politically motivated, especially given the timing just before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine .

Title:

Content: Americas

American prisoner in Venezuela calls on Biden to push for release

A U.S. citizen who has been detained in Venezuela for several years is calling on President Biden to negotiate his release from a Venezuelan prison.

Jorge Toledo, who was sentenced to prison along with five other American oil executives in 2020, was convicted of corruption charges after traveling to Venezuela on a work trip with oil company Citgo.

“My colleagues and I went through a broken judicial system which violated all proceedings and legal due process ending in an unfair trial, condemning me without any evidence of a crime, without committing a crime,” Toledo wrote in a letter to Biden released Monday.

He continued, “Mr. President, I am an innocent man; perhaps my only crime here is being an American.”

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment on the letter.

Toledo is among several Americans detained abroad on charges condemned by the U.S. government, including WNBA player Brittney Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan in Russia.

Vice President Harris said in an interview on Sunday that freeing Americans wrongfully detained abroad is on the administration’s “highest priority list.”

“We take very seriously and we’ve been very clear, Brittney Griner, and there are sadly other Americans who are being unlawfully detained around the world, and it is on our highest priority list to bring those folks home,” said Harris.

U.S. diplomats have traveled to Venezuela previously to urge the release of detained Americans.

Toledo’s letter, dated July 5, called on Biden to support his freedom in celebration of Independence Day.

The American citizen wrote in his letter that he and his colleagues, known as the “Citgo 6,” have been in “arbitrary and unjust imprisonment” for more than 1,680 days.

“I am calling on your humanity, courage and decisive leadership to put an end to this difficult and extreme circumstance,” he wrote to Biden.

Toledo wrote that he lives in a “dungeon” and has experienced serious health conditions due to his confinement, including pneumonia, kidney failure, COVID-19 and multiple infections, as well as severe weight loss.

The prisoner also appealed to his family to urge Biden to act, describing himself as a husband, father, son, brother, friend and grandfather.

“Your leadership and authority are necessary to put in place the required prompt actions to ensure my release, and the release of more than 60 fellow Americans, my brothers and sisters in captivity as hostages and wrongful detainees around the world,” said Toledo.

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The political implications of Griner’s arrest were immediate and profound.

The political implications of Griner’s arrest were immediate and profound.

The political implications of Griner’s arrest were immediate and profound.

Her detention occurred amid rapidly deteriorating U.S.-Russia relations, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine commencing just days after her arrest .

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Content: - The Washington Times - Friday, July 1, 2022

As pressure mounts on President Biden to take more aggressive action to get Moscow to release jailed WNBA star Brittney Griner, the international chatter increasing points to a prisoner swap for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Russian media and Bout’s lawyer, Steve Zissou, say Russian officials want to secure Bout’s release and that Griner, who has been locked up in Russia since February, could be part of a deal.

“I would be surprised if any American was repatriated without Viktor Bout also being sent home to his family,” Zissou told The Washington Times.

Bout is serving a 25-year sentence in federal prison. He was convicted of conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens, delivering anti-aircraft missiles, and providing aid to a terrorist organization, charges his lawyer disputes.

Another detained American, former Marine Paul Whelan, who was arrested in Russia on espionage charges in 2018, could also be part of a prisoner swap for Bout.

Mr. Zissou said the deal would likely have to include Bout. The lawyer met last month with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov, who said that freeing Bout “was Russia’s number one priority,” according to Mr. Zissou.

Griner, meanwhile, made her first appearance in court on Friday and was accused of possessing “a significant amount of cannabis oil,” which is a banned substance in Russia. She faces likely conviction and a decade in prison when her trial resumes on July 7.

Griner, 31, was arrested at the airport in Moscow on Feb. 17 for allegedly carrying vape cartridges with hashish oil. She was visiting the country to play for a Russian basketball team after the conclusion of the WNBA season.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied Griner is being held as a political pawn, The Associated Press reported.

“The facts are that the famous athlete was detained in possession of prohibited medication containing narcotic substances,” Peskov told reporters on Friday. “In view of what I’ve said, it can’t be politically motivated.”

Still, Russia’s desire to free Bout complicates matters for Mr. Biden, who is weathering intense criticism for failing to secure the release of Griner, a center for the Phoenix Mercury and a two-time Olympic gold medalist.

Dozens of organizations, including women’s and LGBTQ groups, have pressed Mr. Biden to step up efforts to secure Griner’s release. They called on the president “to make a deal to get Brittney back home to America immediately and safely.”

While Bout’s lawyer disputes the charges against him, Bout was convicted of far more serious crimes than Griner’s drug charge, which could make it difficult for the Biden administration to agree to a swap.

Griner’s high-profile detainment comes at a historically difficult point in the diplomatic relationship between the U.S. and Russia. Griner was arrested just days before Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to invade Ukraine on February 24.

The U.S. has condemned the invasion and responded by providing Ukraine with weapons and other support to defend itself from Mr. Putin’s forces.

With Griner in detention, Russian officials are now intensifying efforts to secure the release of Bout, whose targeting and conviction by the United States has long been viewed as an attack on Russian sovereignty.

Russian media is reporting that a swap for Bout is on the table.

“Currently, talks are underway on exchanging Bout for Griner,” Tass news reported, citing an unnamed Russian source.

Nicknamed the “Merchant of Death,” Bout was convicted in 2011 in a U.S. government sting operation of planning to smuggle arms to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The witnesses hired to portray FARC told Bout the arms would be used to target U.S. military serving in Colombia.

Bout, 55, is about five years from completing his sentence and is in failing health, his lawyer said.

Mr. Zissou said he is trying to elevate the circumstances surrounding his client’s case to improve his appeal as a candidate for a prisoner swap.

The U.S. targeted Bout while he was living in Moscow and retired from running an air transport company that also smuggled arms from one country to another.

The U.S. government paid more than $10 million to criminals as part of the operation to catch Bout.

“Entrapment is exactly what happened,” Mr. Zissou said.

Mr. Zissou said exchanging Griner for Bout is “a no brainer,” because his client will be freed in a few years regardless.

Last week, Russian officials extended Griner’s pretrial detention by six months. With Russia’s acquittal rate in criminal cases at less than 1%, it’s unlikely she will be able to return to the U.S. without a prisoner exchange.

Pressure is also on Mr. Biden to also secure the release of Mr. Whelan, 52, who is serving a 16-year sentence in a Russian prison camp.

“It’s certainly conceivable that a swap for Whelan and Bout gets agreed to, and then at the end of Griner’s trial, if she’s convicted, she just gets pardoned and sent home,” Mr. Zissou said.

In a statement provided to The Times, the State Department declined to provide details about the talks to free Griner.

“We have no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas,” a State Department spokesman said. “The Department of State has determined that the Russian Federation has wrongfully detained U.S. citizen Brittney Griner. The U.S. government will continue to provide appropriate support to Griner and her family. We will continue to press for her release.”

• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.

Copyright © 2022 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.

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officials quickly labeled her detention as “wrongful,” a designation that signaled the U.S.

officials quickly labeled her detention as “wrongful,” a designation that signaled the U.S.

officials quickly labeled her detention as “wrongful,” a designation that signaled the U.S.

government’s belief that Griner was being used as a political pawn rather than being subject to a fair legal process .

Title:

Content: The problem is not just what happened to Brittney Griner. The problem is that we don’t know what is happening to Brittney Griner now. The WNBA superstar was allegedly caught with hashish oil in her luggage at a Russian airport and has been in custody for several weeks. For those first couple of weeks, it was as if no one noticed she was missing, no small feat for an athlete who is six foot nine and one of the most recognizable players in the history of the game. She also is also well-known in Russia, where she plays for UMMC Ekaterinburg in the WNBA off season. In 2021 she helped the Russian team win its fifth EuroLeague Women’s championship. (Many WNBA players hoop in Russia during the off-season, as they need to supplement their income, an injustice in and of itself.)

Almost certainly, instead of creating an immediate public outcry following her arrest, there were efforts behind the scenes to get her out of Russia, which, we know now, was preparing to invade Ukraine. The goal would have been to make this go away without provoking an international incident. Well, it’s too late for that now. There are online petitions and a predictable uproar given the anti-Putin sentiment in the States. Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, posted a picture of them together on Instagram as the news spread over the weekend. She thanked their fans and then wrote, “I understand that many of you have grown to love BG over the years and have concerns and want details. Please honor our privacy as we continue to work on getting my wife home safely.”

In other words, delicate negotiations to get Griner home are almost certainly ongoing in a situation that is spiraling. Griner is detained in Russia at a moment when US-Russian relations are at their worst since Ronald Reagan joked, “We begin bombing in five minutes.” When and how she gets home and how she is being treated right now are anyone’s guess. As basketball writer Tom Ziller put it, “We don’t have an idea as the public WNBA fandom where Griner is, or how she is doing, or how long she has been detained, or the circumstances of her custody, or what she knows about a timeline for being released, or what she’s being told. We don’t really know anything, and we don’t know whether she or those close to her know anything.”

Whether it started this way or not, we need to understand Griner as a political prisoner. It may have started with airport racial profiling and the idiotic war on cannabis. But now, by the nature of this perilous moment, she has become a chit, a leverage point, in a larger political war.

The WNBA and Griner’s team, the Phoenix Mercury, are being tight-lipped about the situation—as is the US State Department. But I did reach the coauthor of Griner’s 2014 memoir In My Skin: My Life On and Off the Basketball Court, Sue Hovey. The former ESPN The Magazine executive editor told me: “Brittney Griner is one of the most resilient, mentally tough athletes I’ve ever met. When she led Baylor to a perfect season and the national championship in 2012, she did so while having to endure a torrent of vicious verbal attacks from opposing fans and online trolls. People forget that when she graduated from Baylor in 2013 and publicly came out as gay upon entering the WNBA, that was still a big deal at the time; it wasn’t nearly as common as it is today for athletes to reveal their authentic selves. Brittney was, and continues to be, a trailblazer in eschewing gender norms. Even eight years after her memoir was published, I still get the occasional Twitter message from a college student who read her book in a gender studies class, or just a fan expressing gratitude for Brittney sharing her story. Like many athletes, she has had some stumbles and controversy along the way, but she always takes accountability and shows a willingness to learn and grow. And in an age of curated social media content, there’s something refreshing about a high-profile athlete who gives us that three-dimensional view. She’s relatable and human, and that resonates with people.”

It is absolutely true that Griner resonates with people, and now many of her fans are up in arms. If the goal was to quietly negotiate Griner’s return, those days are done. At this point, there is really no choice but to shine the brightest possible light on this political injustice and demand that she be sent home. Political prisoners are rarely freed easily. It requires—and demands—an international response. Brittney Griner is a basketball titan who deserves more than to be treated like a pawn.

The Biden administration faced intense domestic and international pressure to secure her release, as her case became emblematic of the broader risks faced by Americans abroad and the use of high-profile individuals in geopolitical bargaining .

Griner’s wife, Cherelle, and her legal team described her as a “political pawn,” underscoring the perception that her arrest was intended to provide Russia with leverage in diplomatic negotiations .

Title:

Content: Mercury post first video of Brittney Griner in uniform after re-signing WNBA star

Griner last played for Phoenix during the 2021 season

Brittney Griner is back in a Phoenix Mercury uniform over two months after returning from incarceration in Russia.

Griner officially re-signed with the only WNBA team she’s ever known this week, reportedly on a one-year deal with Phoenix worth $165,100.

American professional basketball player Brittney Griner acknowledges fans as she watches on the 16th hole during the third round of the Phoenix Open golf tournament, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, in Scottsdale, Ariz.  (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

On Friday, the franchise posted a video of Griner in a Mercury uniform for the first time since her signing.

FORMER WNBA MVP NNEKA OGWUMIKE RETURNING TO LOS ANGELES SPARKS ON ONE-YEAR DEAL: REPORT

Griner, who spent 10 months in Russian custody after authorities allegedly discovered that she had vape canisters with cannabis oil in her luggage, will return for her 10th WNBA season.

The WNBA champion was arrested in February 2022 at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport and was later classified as "wrongfully detained" by the U.S. State Department.

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is escorted from a courtroom after a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022.  (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko.)

After months of strained negotiations, Griner was released from a Russian penal colony in early December in a prisoner exchange for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

On Thursday, Griner participated in a workout at the team facility when Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton emerged to watch.

"It’s unreal," Ayton said, according to the Arizona Republic. "Just watching her and seeing the reactions on her face. Her just being back and trying to get back in shape and just loving the game she loves to do. You can tell her mind is free."

Phoenix Mercury's Brittney Griner (42) is congratulated on a play against the Seattle Storm in the first half of the second round of the WNBA basketball playoffs Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021, in Everett, Wash. Griner, who was a free agent, re-signed with the Mercury on a one-year contract according to a person familiar with the deal. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023, because no announcement has been made.  (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Griner was drafted by Phoenix with the top pick of the 2013 draft, helping the Mercury win the WNBA championship in 2014.

Phoenix opens the 2023 season on May 19th against the Los Angeles Sparks.

Fox News' Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.

government’s efforts to free Griner were extensive and highly publicized.

government’s efforts to free Griner were extensive and highly publicized.

government’s efforts to free Griner were extensive and highly publicized.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held direct discussions about her case, a rare diplomatic engagement since the onset of the Ukraine conflict .

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Content: Skip to main content

Russian court sentences Brittney Griner to 9 years, raising pressure on Biden

A Russian court Thursday sentenced U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner to nine years in a penal colony after convicting her on a drug charge, a harsh penalty that keeps her fate entwined with the geopolitical showdown over the war in Ukraine and ramps up already intense pressure on President Joe Biden to win her release.

The U.S. government contends that she is among several Americans who have been “wrongfully detained” by Russia, used as bargaining chips in the increasingly hostile relationship between Moscow and Washington. The Biden administration has offered a prisoner swap involving Griner, but Russian officials said it was premature to discuss a deal while her case was underway.

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Now that the trial is concluded, Biden faces a difficult choice between standing firm on his proposal to trade for Griner and another American, Paul Whelan, or sweetening the offer somehow, with either position liable to draw domestic criticism.

Meanwhile the Kremlin can use them as leverage, with no incentive to resolve the cases quickly. Griner’s supporters, voicing horror at the verdict and sentence, are clamoring for the president to do something, while the administration is wary of giving in to Russian tactics it has all but labeled blackmail.

“My administration will continue to work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue to bring Brittney and Paul Whelan home safely as soon as possible,” Biden said in a statement after the verdict.

Griner, 31, one of her sport’s biggest global stars, sat mostly expressionless, eyes downcast, leaning her long frame toward the bars of the defendant’s box in a cramped courtroom outside Moscow to hear as the words of the judge, Anna Sotnikova, were quietly translated for her. She had already pleaded guilty, and conviction is all but certain in Russian courts, so the verdict was a foregone conclusion; the real question was about sentencing.

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The answer was devastating. The sentence was near the 10-year maximum for her conviction for attempting to smuggle narcotics into the country, based on two vape cartridges containing hashish oil found in Griner’s luggage when she arrived in February, a week before President Vladimir Putin sent Russian forces to Ukraine.

She and her legal team had hoped for a more lenient penalty based on her guilty plea, her statement that she had not meant to take the cartridges to Russia, and testimony that she used the substance legally in the United States to manage pain.

“I made an honest mistake, and I hope that in your ruling that it doesn’t end my life here,” she said before the sentencing.

She told the court that while she took responsibility for her actions, “I had no intent to break Russian law.” She said that after recovering from a bout of COVID, she had packed hurriedly to rejoin the Russian team she plays for in the WNBA offseason, and had accidentally left the cartridges in her luggage.

Griner’s defense team called the ruling “absolutely unreasonable,” said the court had “completely ignored all the evidence of the defense, and most importantly, the guilty plea,” and vowed to appeal. Elizabeth Rood, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, attended the court session and called the result “a miscarriage of justice.”

Russian officials have insisted that Griner’s case is simply the justice system running its course, with no political overtones — a claim that their U.S. counterparts and many Western analysts dismissed as absurd.

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William Pomeranz, a Russia expert and acting director of the Kennan Institute, a research group in Washington, noted that Griner was sentenced not to a prison but to a penal colony, which tends to mean a more remote location — many are in Siberia — and harsher conditions.

“She’s probably going to go to a penal colony that’s in the middle of Russia where she won’t know anybody,” he added. “They won’t be able to come and visit. Penal colonies can sometimes be very severe. It will be a tremendous test of her mental state if she ends up going to a penal colony.”

The United States has few options, he said. “It will just depend on the Russians and how fast they want to make a deal.”

Fellow basketball players, male and female, and basketball executives took to social media to voice support for Griner and grief at the verdict. Griner’s team, the Phoenix Mercury, said in a statement: “We remain heartbroken for her, as we have every day for nearly six months. We remain grateful to and confident in the public servants working every day to return her to her family and us.”

With Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the indiscriminate destruction it has caused, relations between Washington and Moscow are more confrontational and bitter than they have been in decades. The United States has rallied the West to send arms and other aid to Ukraine, and to punish Moscow with economic sanctions, looking for opportunities to ratchet up the pressure.

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The two sides have made prisoner exchanges before, most recently in April, when Russia released Trevor Reed, an American held on what his family said was a bogus assault charge, in return for a Russian pilot convicted in the United States of cocaine trafficking charges. But rarely have proposed swaps come amid such tension, or involved anyone as prominent as Griner.

In a sign of how high the stakes are for Washington, Griner’s fate was among the topics discussed last Friday by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, in their first direct conversation since before the invasion.

The Biden administration has offered to trade Griner and Whelan for Viktor Bout, who is serving a 25-year sentence for a 2011 conviction on a federal charge of conspiring to sell weapons to people posing as terrorists intent on killing Americans. Whelan, detained in Russia since 2018, was convicted of espionage and sentenced to 16 years.

Russia made an unspecified “bad faith” counteroffer, the White House said Monday, which U.S. officials said they did not consider serious.

John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council, told reporters Thursday, “I don’t think it would be helpful to Brittney or to Paul for us to talk more publicly about where we are in the talks and what the president might or might not be willing to do.”

“Conversations are ongoing at various levels,” he added.

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If Biden sticks to his initial offer, he could face accusations of not doing enough.

Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, and other supporters have mounted an effective public campaign to pressure the president to win her release. Supporters worry about her treatment in a country where anti-American and anti-gay vitriol are deeply embedded in popular views and official propaganda. Images of a grim-faced Griner being led, handcuffed, in and out of court, towering over her armed guards, have become commonplace in U.S. and international media.

The administration could make a more attractive offer, but U.S. officials already worry that deals for prisoners could encourage hostile foreign governments to detain Americans on trumped-up charges in exchange for concessions like freeing their own wrongdoers. Some Republicans have already complained that Biden’s existing offer creates such an incentive.

A 6-foot-9 center, Griner won a college national championship with Baylor in 2012, a WNBA championship with the Mercury in 2014, Olympic gold medals with the U.S. team at the 2016 and 2020 games, and four EuroLeague championships with the Russian team UMMC Yekaterinburg. Like many players in the WNBA, where salaries are much lower than in the NBA, Griner — who also played one season for a professional team in China — has played overseas to supplement her income.

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Content: Commentary

Press Secretary Touts Griner as 'Inspiration' to LGBT While Downplaying the Abandonment of Marine Veteran

Well, President Joe Biden has traded “the Merchant of Death” to Russia for a basketball player with a checkered past, all while leaving a former Marine to rot in prison.

But don’t worry, because White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has reassured us that it’s entirely worth it because the basketball player also is a hero to the LGBT community.

Yup, this is really where we’re at.

ICYMI, the now-former Russian prisoner is Brittney Griner, a 32-year-old WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist who was arrested in February in Russia on drug charges.

Griner arrived back in the United States — in San Antonio — early Friday after the Biden administration brokered a deal with the Russian government to trade her for notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Trending:
Biden Gets Snubbed by Key Democrat Amid Speculation of a Party Switch

Meanwhile, Paul Whelan, a security executive from Michigan who was arrested in 2018 and convicted in 2020 on espionage charges that he and the U.S. say are baseless, remains in prison in Russia. He received a 16-year sentence.

So not only was Griner traded for an incredibly dangerous U.S. prisoner, but the Biden administration got her freed before Whelan despite supposedly trying for his release for much longer.

According to NBC News, the Biden admin was offered either Griner or no one in exchange for Bout. The outlet also said Whelan is being treated differently by the Russians because he was convicted of espionage, which is what Jean-Pierre told reporters when pressed about the trade.

“The choice was bring Brittney home or no one. The president will never stop working to secure Paul Whelan’s release,” she said during a press briefing.

“On a personal note,” she added, “Brittney is an important role model, an inspiration to millions of Americans, particularly the LGBTQI+ Americans and women of color.”

Jean-Pierre indeed is an authority on LGBT women of color, as she is the first openly gay and non-white White House press secretary, something one imagines she holds dear because she’s brought little else to the briefing room since taking over for Jen Psaki in May.

Griner, meanwhile, clearly is Jean-Pierre’s idea of American heroism — the press secretary also described the basketball player, who pleaded guilty to domestic violence charges in the United States in 2015 — as representing “the best of America.”

Related:
Watch: Biden Won't Even Look at Reporters While They Try to Ask Him Questions

Whelan’s family members, who NBC reported were warned ahead of time that he would not be released in the one-on-one trade, were clear they did not hold the government’s failure to release their loved one against Griner.

“It is so important to me that it is clear that we do not begrudge Ms. Griner her freedom,” Whelan’s brother, David Whelan, told NBC. “As I have often remarked, Brittney’s and Paul’s cases were never really intertwined. It has always been a strong possibility that one might be freed without the other.”

Whelan himself was incredibly gracious about Griner’s release, emphasizing that it was better that her trade happen than “waiting for one that wasn’t going to happen.”

He is a credit to the military he served in, a military that seems to be consistently disgraced by our current administration.

Whelan’s Russian lawyer, Vladimir Zherebenkov, also made the  interesting and chivalrous comment that it was “more humane” to release Griner because she is a woman and Olympic champion, while his client has been in the military, so therefore it would be “easier for him to be in custody.”

(Indeed, it reportedly was difficult for the 6-foot-9 Griner in the Russian prison, although her attorneys said this was due to her height.)

Let’s be real — it’s no wonder that Russia offered Griner or no one.

This couldn’t have been more perfectly designed by Russia to make the United States look absurdly weak on the world stage, and you cannot ignore the pressing question as to whether Griner’s release  actually was worth the trade of Bout, the brutal arms dealer.

In the middle of his country’s war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin trades a dangerous arms dealer for a basketball player, and the best Jean-Pierre can say is that Griner is an inspiration to the LGBT community?

Don’t get me wrong — I think it’s likely that Griner was imprisoned on trumped-up political charges, as she foolishly broke Russian law, and I don’t take her imprisonment lightly. I think it is a fine man who will celebrate the release of a female civilian from prison over himself.

Did Biden win the Griner trade?

But I don’t take his imprisonment lightly, either, nor the significance of my nation’s posture as it contrasts with the Russian regime in such a volatile juncture of world history.

Just as Russia’s testosterone-soaked military recruitment ads make a humiliating mess of our own “woke” recruitment strategy, furnishing a seriously bad dude in exchange for a woman whose best contribution to our country is playing basketball professionally and being a lesbian tells you everything you need to know about how Biden is making our country look to the world.

I can’t imagine the disgrace felt by Whelan and thousands of other heroes like him who signed up to protect our country and liberty worldwide but are being left to rot in Russian prisons so the president can increase his woke points.

This is what our country’s leaders now value. Sexual identity trumps not only national pride, but international security.

What a disgrace.

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Isa grew up in San Francisco, where she was briefly a far-left socialist before finding Jesus and her husband in Hawaii. She now homeschools their two boys and freelances in the Ozarks.
Isa grew up in San Francisco, where she was briefly a far-left socialist before finding Jesus and her husband in Hawaii. She now homeschools their two boys and freelances in the Ozarks.

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proposed a prisoner swap, offering Viktor Bout—a notorious Russian arms dealer serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S.

proposed a prisoner swap, offering Viktor Bout—a notorious Russian arms dealer serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S.

proposed a prisoner swap, offering Viktor Bout—a notorious Russian arms dealer serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S.

for conspiracy to kill Americans—in exchange for Griner .

Title:

Content: Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
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Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude

Brittney Griner Is Ready to Tell Her ‘Unfathomable’ Story in New Memoir

The two-time Olympic gold medalist will finally tell the story of her Russian detainment.

We may earn a commission from links on this page.

Ahead of her return to the WNBA, Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner has confirmed that she will tell the true story behind her wrongful detainment in Russia. According to The Associated Press, on Tuesday, the eight-time all-star announced that she is working on a memoir about her imprisonment. It is currently scheduled for release in spring 2024.

In February 2022, Griner was stopped in a Moscow airport when the police said they found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage. The WNBA champion was charged with drug smuggling and possession. After a short trial, the basketball star was found guilty and sentenced to nine years in prison. Just as she was beginning her sentence in a labor camp, in December 2022 the U.S. and Russia conducted a prisoner exchange, with Griner coming home, while convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout was released into Russian custody.

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“That day (in February) was the beginning of an unfathomable period in my life which only now am I ready to share,” Griner said in a statement released by Alfred A. Knopf.

When she was arrested, Griner was headed back to Russia to join UMMC Ekaterinburg, the professional team she played for there. Most top WNBA stars play overseas the rest of the year, as they don’t earn much money competing in the United States.

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“The primary reason I traveled back to Russia for work that day was because I wanted to make my wife, family, and teammates proud,” she said. “After an incredibly challenging 10 months in detainment, I am grateful to have been rescued and to be home. Readers will hear my story and understand why I’m so thankful for the outpouring of support from people across the world.”

The two-time Olympic gold medalist went on to say that she hopes “her book would raise awareness of other Americans detained overseas.” In December 2022, the Baylor alum announced on Instagram that she planned to play during the upcoming season, writing, “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.”

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In February, Griner re-signed with the Phoenix Mercury for a one-year deal. She will make her 2023 season debut on the road on Friday, May 19 against the Los Angeles Sparks.

The negotiations were complex and protracted, with the U.S.

The negotiations were complex and protracted, with the U.S.

government also seeking the release of Paul Whelan, another American detained in Russia, but ultimately only Griner was included in the final agreement .

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Content: Last Updated on July 4, 2022 by BVN

S. E. Williams |

The Black lesbian feminist poet Audre Lorde once said that she wrote “for those women who do not speak, for those who do not have a voice because they were so terrified, because we are taught to respect fear more than ourselves.”

Lorde further stated, “We’ve been taught that silence would save us, but it won’t.”

However, in the decades since Lorde penned those words many Black lesbians are no longer silent. Yet, we must ask the question, how safe are Black lesbians today? Perhaps we should ask WNBA basketball star, Brittney Griner, who is among the growing number of prominent Black lesbians in America living out loud.

Most have battle scar evidence of their struggle to find a peaceful life in a world that in many ways, still considers who they are and who they love an aberration.  And, although disrespect and dangers continue to lurk for members of the LGBTQ+ community in America, it is still safer to live here than in many other places in the world.

Unfortunately for Griner, however, she is now trapped in a country, where racism against Blacks is normalized and where the government is working to ostracize members of the LGBTQ+ community. But how different is this really from many places in America today.

Despite the spread of anti-gay sentiments in Russia and right leaning countries across Europe, Griner plays basketball internationally during the WNBA’s off season. This despite writing about her “coming out” in her 2017 autobiography, “In My Skin: My Life On and Off the Basketball Court,” which helped make her one of the most recognizable lesbians in the world.

Racism and Homophobia in Russia

For those who have not followed Griner’s fate in recent months, she was arrested on drug charges in Russia on February 17. Her arrest came just days after a Russian court suspended a lawsuit (February 11) intended to shut down its LGBT Network—the country’s most powerful gay rights organization—for  purportedly spreading gay views, which of course, could farcically include anything from a view out one’s window of gay people walking down the street, to realistically include gay people advocating for the same rights to live and love as they choose like any other Russian.

Identifying as lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender or queer has been legal in Russia since 1993 (how enlightened) however in 2013 under Vladimir Putin’s leadership, the nation adopted what’s been called the “gay propaganda” law that made it illegal to speak words related to the LGBTQ+ community around minors.

Racism and homophobia in America

Before Russia took such action, America was already contriving to do the same.

There has been much criticism recently of Florida’s recently enacted Parental Rights in Education Bill signed into law in April that appeared to follow Russia’s lead. But, it was revealed by The Center for Media and Democracy (Center), a nonprofit that tracks the work of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), that the Parental Rights Amendment was actually listed under its “Education Task Force and included in the 1995 ALEC Sourcebook of American State Legislation.

Also, according to the Center, although ALEC has tried to distance itself from this controversial legislation since 2011, it is difficult to identify any efforts to advocate against the current movement to codify this legislative into law across the country.

ALEC is a nonprofit organization of conservative state legislators and private sector representatives that drafts models of legislation for distribution and adoption by conservative legislatures around the country and for decades has worked to pull America toward extremism.

Sadly, Florida’s recent law is just the tip of the iceberg. Anti LGBTQ+ toxicity is spreading quickly in America. Red states from Ohio to Texas to Indiana to Colorado to Wyoming to South Dakota, Iowa, Utah and beyond   have pushed to pass similar bills. In some instances state’s were only prevented from doing so by Democratic legislators who held the line against Republican, anti-gay governors seeking to work their will.

As we watch and point with deserved derision and criticism, the unfolding fate of Griner in Russia, Time magazine provided a chilling reminder in mid-May, of what is possible in America regarding the welfare of LGBTQ+ citizens. It recalled the successful work of  Florida’s Johns Committee—a state legislative committee that launched an LGBTQ+ purge in the late 1950s rooted in racism, homophobia, and anti-communism.

Beginning in 1957 and continuing through 1963 the Florida legislative committee persecuted and intimidated those suspected of being gay at state universities as part of the state’s resistance to federally sanctioned school desegregation in response to the 1954 Brown v Board of Education Supreme Court decision.

According to Time, the committee’s original goal was to uncover all communists believed to be behind desegregation. Not surprisingly since it was based on a false premise, that mission failed. This subsequently compelled the committee to find another group to scapegoat—gays and lesbians. This eventually led to a report popularly known as “The Purple Pamphlet”( because of its sensational and explicit content), that highlighted “the extent of infiltration into agencies supported by state funds by practicing homosexuals.”

By1965, hundreds of Floridians were prosecuted and charged because of their sexuality. Frighteningly, not unlike the experiences of Griner in Russia today, Florida interrogations were reportedly conducted in privacy and even worse, the accused were denied legal counsel.

A need to raise our collective voices

Today, as Griner languishes in a Russian prison—most assuredly because she is Black and a lesbian who may or may not have committed a minor drug infraction in a racist, homophobic country —,there are legitimate concerns about her safety.  As her detention days turn into weeks and weeks into months, there is little doubt it is up to all of us, Black women, members of the LGBTQ+ community, those who support and validate our right to exist and every American committed to human rights to pressure the federal government to bring her home. We must raise our collective voices to keep Griner’s freedom at the forefront of America’s political consciousness.

Audre Lorde lamented about the fate of Black lesbians in her seminal work the Black Unicorn where she noted “’The black unicorn was mistaken for a shadow or symbol and taken through a cold country…, ” She further spoke to the power of Black women/lesbian strength and determination to live their truth stating,  “the Black unicorn is unrelenting.” I pray this perceived power is enough to sustain Griner (her wife and loved ones) in the days ahead.

In concluding her poem Lorde also reminded all of us that although the metaphorical Black unicorn is empowered, as we are witnessing today decades after Lorde put pen to paper on this issue, as it relates to Griner, “the Black unicorn is not free.”

Raise your voice to advocate for Griner’s freedom by calling the U.S. Department of State at 1-202-647-4000 and the White House at 202-456-1111 to advocate for Griner’s release. Remember, “Silence is complicity.”

Of course, this is just my opinion. I’m keeping it real.

S.E. Williams

Stephanie Williams is executive editor of the IE Voice and Black Voice News. A longtime champion for civil rights and justice in all its forms, she is also an advocate for government transparency and committed to ferreting out and exposing government corruption. Stephanie has received awards for her investigative reporting and for her weekly column, Keeping it Real. Contact Stephanie with tips, comments. or concerns at myopinion@ievoice.com.

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Opinions

Where does wrongful detention of Brittney Griner go from here?

She will inevitably be labeled a hostage

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Brittney Griner

It seems like years rather than weeks ago that American political prisoner, Trevor Reed, was released from Russia in a prisoner swap. It also seems like years since an American citizen, basketball superstar Brittney Griner, was taken into custody in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport for allegedly having hashish oil in her possession.

We now know what many of us believed all along – that Brittney Griner was, in the far too late proclamation by the U.S. government, “wrongfully detained.” In diplomacy-speak, wrongfully detained is synonymous with politically detained, which is super close to what will soon enough inevitably happen – calling Brittney Griner a hostage.

Since the beginning of Griner’s detention, I have done dozens of print, radio, TV, and related interviews, and I have a pretty clear view of how and why we got here.

As I wrote around six weeks ago, if we read between the lines of what’s being said in traditional and social media, we can extract three key reasons why the Griner situation isn’t getting the attention that it should be and would be if it was a different athlete.

The first reason is that Brittney Griner is not a terribly high-profile athlete.

This is patently untrue. As I have been commenting from the minute we learned that she was taken into custody by the Russians, Griner was absolutely the highest-profile American athlete that Russia could have taken into custody as they were preparing for their brutal invasion of Ukraine.

The only other high-profile athletes playing in Russia or transiting through at that time were the very few American players in Russia’s top hockey league, the KHL. None are superstars in their sport, as Griner is.

The second argument for why Griner isn’t getting the attention she should be is that she is LGBTQ.

I have argued that this is a reasonably good hypothesis. It just seems that a straight athlete would be getting a lot more attention and public sympathy than Griner has, in part, yet not in full, because of her sexual orientation. That’s a remarkably harsh position to have to take in 2022, yet it’s clear that Griner doesn’t fit the mold of what many Americans see as that all-American athlete. That one’s sexual or gender orientation should drive the American public’s level of sympathy for one of their own top athletes is a shame, but here we are.

The third and most commonly cited reason for Brittany Griner getting less attention than another athlete in a similar situation is that she’s Black.

This argument holds little weight with me. Yes, it makes sense that in comparison to a high-profile white athlete, some people are simply going to care less about a Black athlete. Again, that’s a harsh analysis, yet not unaligned with many things going on in the nation today.

But I think this is a reductive argument that crumbles under the weight of the analogy that I usually use during TV and radio broadcasts about the Griner case – and that is, what if this was Kyrie Irving?

I like to use Kyrie Irving as an analogy because he is a highly controversial Black athlete. Obviously, NBA players don’t have to have second jobs in places like Russia, Turkey, and China, to make ends meet, as the WNBA women do. But just imagine that Kyrie Irving was traveling alone through Moscow airport. If Irving had been taken into custody by the Russians, I can guarantee that this would be front-page news not just in the sports section but on the front page of all significant papers practically every day. That simply hasn’t been the case with Brittney Griner.

Every day, I am asked where this goes from here. With Griner’s May 19 hearing delayed “one month” (though at the time of writing, no date has been set), I remained convinced of two things: that this goes to a worse place than we are now and that it progresses painfully slowly.

As to the first point, to maximize leverage over the United States, it’s likely that Griner will end up somewhere like a Russian labor camp before she ever steps back into the United States. While Russia does not follow the Rule of Law, it would be neither legally nor politically expedient to just hold Griner in a Moscow jail or prison indefinitely. They need to make her situation worse to turn up the urgency of the case for the American government.

But this indeed won’t happen overnight. As I’ve also been saying all along, the next hearing date will also be delayed, OR we will learn through a TASS Russian media release that Griner was tried, found guilty of all charges, and sentenced (see labor camp, above).

As to what each of us can do, my advice remains the same: Keep talking about it. Make this Brittney as viral as Britney Spears was a year ago. Just as Britney Spears’ freedom from her conservatorship was turbo-charged by the #FreeBritney hashtag, let’s #FreeBrittney now.

This is significantly less trite than it sounds. There is no indication that the American government doesn’t want you to forget about Brittney Griner. As former hostage Jason Rezaian discussed on an excellent recent Washington Post podcast, he always “calls BS” on those parties, saying we should keep detentions such as Griner’s out of the public spotlight. He advocates being as loud as we can be on this, which is why I keep doing interviews on this issue as much as possible.

Ultimately, Brittney Griner will be a political prisoner until the United States and Russia can decide, in crass basketball terms, on a fair player trade. On Friday, we learned that the two sides might actually be in discussions now for a trade involving Griner for notorious convicted arms trafficker Viktor Bout, aka the “Merchant of Death.”

Unless this can re-enter and remain in the public spotlight, along with any pressure on the government, Britney Griner will not get the treatment she deserves as one of the greatest basketball players of her generation. That the massive disparity between how NBA and WNBA players are compensated laid the foundation for her to be in this position is the harsh reality these leagues face today. Yet it pales compared to the uncertain reality Griner faces today in a Moscow jail.

A Pulitzer Prize-nominated writer, Aron Solomon, JD, is the chief legal analyst for Today’s Esquire. He has taught entrepreneurship at McGill University and the University of Pennsylvania, and was elected to Fastcase 50, recognizing the top 50 legal innovators in the world.

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Leave no one behind: Building an LGBTQ+ movement for all

A just society is only achievable by investing in dignity of the marginalized

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Despite the expansion of LGBTQ+ civil rights and liberties in D.C., some of which we proudly attribute to GLAA’s stalwart activism for the past 51 years, the most vulnerable members of our community continue to suffer from poverty, homelessness, criminalization, discrimination, social isolation, and preventable death. A jaw-dropping 40% of homeless youth in the U.S. identify as LGBTQ+, LGBTQ+ people experience hunger at twice the rate of straight people, and right here in D.C., the Office of Human Rights reports that employers are more likely to interview a less-qualified cisgender job applicant than a more-qualified transgender applicant.

So for our 2022 candidate ratings, GLAA decided to emphasize that racial and economic justice are LGBTQ+ justice issues. While we recognize the importance of openly LGBTQ+ candidates, we know one’s identity does not indicate where they stand on critical issues. Something many of us have learned the hard way, and something GLAA leadership recognizes not championing sooner as a mistake. What matters most is a candidate’s demonstrated record and vision to support the LGBTQ+ community in its entirety.

It is not enough for candidates to respond only to the needs of those who historically have held the most power in the LGBTQ+ community, particularly white cisgender gay men, in order to tout support of the entire community. The LGBTQ+ community is so many different people, and it is time we push candidates to consider and address us in our entirety. For too long, many LGBTQ+ people have felt rejected and betrayed by our community’s movement priorities, narratives about what our community stands for, and decisions on who is valued and who is selected to represent or lead us. And, while GLAA understands no one politician or organization can erase these community divides, we aim to be intentional in our approach to dismantle that which stands in our entire community’s way toward liberation. That is why, in 2022 we decided to rate candidates on their responses and records of support on issues that impact the most marginalized members of the LGBTQ+ community. None of us is free until all of us are free.

Throughout GLAA’s history we have focused on securing LGBTQ+ rights, which have mostly strengthened the legal protections of people privileged enough to take advantage of them. GLAA decided to focus the Leave No One Behind: 2022 Election Guide and questionnaire on racial and economic justice with an LGBTQ+ lens. We did this to build on our victories, such as successfully advocating for the defunding of the Metropolitan Police Department’s vice squad in the 1970s, and to learn from our mistakes.

It is our belief that a just, peaceful, and vibrant society is only achievable by actively investing in the security and dignity of the poor and marginalized members of all our communities. Our questionnaire intentionally acts in solidarity with D.C. anti-poverty, anti-stigma, and anti-overdose campaigns, which are largely led by trans and queer people of color.

Ratings are on a scale of +/-10 points: yes/no responses on questionnaire (+/-2); substance of response (+/-4); and candidate’s public record (+/-4). Candidates earned partial credit for the yes/no category if they partially agreed with the question. Four issues received more than 91% agreement: increasing the affordable housing stock for the poorest residents, housing people using government funded vouchers, fully funding the Office of Human Rights, and better oversight to improve conditions in the DC Jail.

Three issues received 70-79% candidates’ support, and over 90% when including candidates who issued partial support: Repealing the sub-minimum wage, decriminalization of drug use, and reducing the population of D.C. jail by 30%.

Finally, the least supported policies were decriminalization of consensual sex work and divesting from the Metropolitan Police Department and investing in violence prevention and recidivism prevention programs. Even still, there was remarkable consensus: over 2/3 or 66% of candidates who issued total or partial support.

We are encouraged by the remarkable level of consensus on all of our issues, signaling that D.C. is ready for transformative change that at its core addresses the District’s current poverty, unaffordable housing, community and police-based violence, and overdose crises.

GLAA is excited to see more LGBTQ+ people on ballots. More exciting, however, is the number of politicians with fully realized and integrated LGBTQ+ policies in their platforms. Policies that extend across race and class lines. GLAA firmly believes all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, can be stewards of LGBTQ+ liberation. It is our hope that readers find these ratings not as endorsements, but as a starting point to imagine what is possible if local officials are guided by D.C. residents to use their elected power to create new possibilities that leave no one behind.

This opinion piece was signed by the 2022 Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance board of directors.

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GLAA has lost its way and should close

Their ratings no longer make an iota of difference in an election

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(Blade file photo by Pete Exis)

The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (GLAA), once a respected organization, has now lost its way. It once represented all the members of the LGBTQ+ community, clearly no longer the case, as one can tell based on their questionnaire and ratings. They now represent only the far left in the community and are seeking to represent more than LGBTQ+ people as the statement from their current president suggests. That is not the role of GLAA.

One of the questions in this year’s questionnaire that candidates were asked to respond to is: “Do you support divesting from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to further invest in vital programs, including anti-poverty, violence prevention, crisis intervention, and reentry?” If you didn’t say yes, you lost points. This shows how out of touch they are as the DC Council just voted unanimously, on a first vote, to raise the budget of the MPD. The approved budget also includes increased funding for other vital programs. There’s no indication GLAA ever spoke to Council members on this issue.

Its website lists five officers, all men, with a blurb on each. The one for the president, in addition to listing past and current employment, says, “When he is not organizing, he loves asking people about their Myers Briggs Type (he is ENFP, for the record), doing gay crimes (the basics like drugs and public sex), having Spicy Vanilla sex, dancing to hot beats on the dance floor, practicing vulnerability, plotting revolution against capitalism and other forms of oppression.” He is entitled to his views. But I question how his leading the GLAA represents the broader LGBTQ+ community.

Over the years I’ve had issues with some of what GLAA has done and some of the issues they focused on. But the organization always represented the entire spectrum of the LGBTQ+ community in their questionnaire. Candidates getting a rating from the organization could feel it represented a wide range of opinion in the community. I would hope no candidate tries to pawn the current ratings off as any kind of support from the broader LGBTQ + community.

In the past you always knew their officers, including Rick Rosendall, Bob Summersgill and Jeff Coudriet among others, were involved with D.C. government and knew the issues in-depth. They knew the candidates. Responding to their questionnaire over the years was always interesting. Rick often was the one who spent hours drafting the questions. I always wondered why it was never enough to say yes you agree with their premise. Instead, you had to say it in hundreds, even thousands, of words to earn points. I know as I have filled out questionnaires for many candidates.

Today their website lists nine project areas, none with anything accomplished since 2016. The blog has nothing on any recent budget issues or legislation pertaining to the LGBTQ+ community, only information about the questionnaire. They claim to lobby the Council and monitor government agencies, but there is no indication of any meetings or testimony since 2017.

We can thank GLAA for the fact that today no politician can win office in D.C. without being supportive of the LGBTQ community. However, today their ratings no longer make an iota of difference in an election. Since this is now the only thing they do it’s time to close up shop. We have moved past the time in D.C. when a small number of people can sit in a room rating candidates they don’t know, on issues that don’t represent the community they are supposed to be representing.

So personally, I say thank you to all the people who worked hard over many years for GLAA to help move the LGBTQ community forward. I recognize there is much work still to be done but GLAA is not the organization to do it. We must work to ensure economic and civil justice for all members of our community; health equity for transgender persons; senior housing for our community; and employment opportunities for all, among other issues. But there are other LGBTQ organizations, and community organizations, doing these things better and the few members GLAA might still have should be directed to those other organizations.

If as their website claims they are planning an anniversary celebration, it should be one to honor all the people who in the past 50 years of the organization, worked hard and were successful in making my life and the lives of so many LGBTQ people in the District of Columbia and around the nation better. That would be an exciting way to say goodbye and celebrate the organization whose time it is to close.

Peter Rosenstein is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.

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An unlikely revolution is happening at Christian universities

More than half have enacted LGBTQ non-discrimination policies

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Recent headlines have been filled with messages of doom and gloom for LGBTQ people. From bans on transgender women competing in sports to “don’t say gay” laws, it seems evident that conservative Republicans are freshly committed to rolling back the rights of LGBTQ people across the United States.

Yet, despite such recent setbacks, a student-led movement for LGBTQ inclusion is gaining ground in what would seem to be one of the unlikeliest settings — Christian colleges and universities.

Over the past few years, I’ve collected extensive data on U.S. Christian colleges and universities’ policies toward LGBTQ students. In one study, I found that 55% of all Christian colleges and universities in the United States have nondiscrimination policies inclusive of sexual orientation. In another recent study, I found that nearly half of all Christian colleges and universities are home to officially recognized LGBTQ student groups.

Even some of the most conservative Christian colleges and universities have changed their approach to LGBTQ students. When analyzing data collected in 2013, I found that nearly one-third of all Christian colleges and universities had adopted bans on so-called “homosexual acts” or “homosexual behavior” in their student handbooks. Yet, when reviewing Christian colleges and universities’ handbooks again over the past year, I found that under one-fourth of Christian colleges and universities had such discriminatory bans.

Why are some Christian colleges and universities becoming more accommodating—and even welcoming—to LGBTQ students?

There are several major reasons, but one of the most important is that several Christian denominations already embrace their LGBTQ members. Denominations such as the Episcopal Church, United Church of Christ, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Disciples of Christ, and Presbyterian Church USA, for example, allow ministers to officiate same-sex weddings. An increasing number of nondenominational churches also affirm LGBTQ people. Those Christian colleges and universities that are already associated with affirming denominations are certainly among the most likely to affirm their LGBTQ students.

Another reason that many Christian colleges and universities are becoming welcoming toward LGBTQ students is that they do not necessarily believe their primary mission is to hold all students to the specific religious tenets of their associated denomination. Rather, they see their primary mission as providing an important service (education) to the broader society. Just as Christian hospitals do not refuse to provide medical treatment to people who are not members of their associated denominations, many Christian colleges and universities have chosen not to deny people an education simply because certain people are not members of their associated denominations.

A rising number of Christian colleges and universities also recognize the harms that occur when people are discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. A recent survey by Religious Exemption Accountability Project shows that 12% of all Christian college and university students self-identify as LGBTQ. Because studies show that LGBTQ people in non-affirming Christian colleges and universities report greater rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation, many Christian schools understand they would be harming a significant number of their students if they continued to discriminate against LGBTQ people.

And still other schools are simply concerned with their bottom lines. The United States is projected to go over a “demographic cliff” in 2025, at which time the number of 18-year-olds nationwide will drop dramatically. Some reports say that one-third of all private colleges and universities nationwide will face major financial crises over the next decade, causing them to close or pursue mergers. Many Christian colleges and universities recognize that adopting discriminatory policies toward LGBTQ students would alienate significant portions of their potential student body.

Certainly, despite these encouraging trends, those who are committed to LGBTQ rights should not be complacent. Many schools have still been slow to extend nondiscrimination protections and housing accommodations to trans students. And the Religious Exemption Accountability Project estimates that as many as 100,000 LGBTQ students are currently enrolled at Christian colleges and universities that still refuse to affirm the dignity and rights of LGBTQ people. That organization recently filed a class-action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education, challenging the federal government’s policy of providing loans even to Christian colleges and universities that otherwise violate Title IX protections for LGBTQ students.

It is likely the case that some Christian colleges and universities will not change their policies toward LGBTQ rights unless they are legally required to do so. Still, at Christian colleges and universities across the United States, LGBTQ students are not waiting around. LGBTQ students are actively mobilizing to bring about inclusive policies at their schools, and at a surprising number of schools, they are succeeding.

Jonathan S. Coley is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Oklahoma State University and a Public Fellow at the Public Religion Research Institute.

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On December 8, 2022, Griner was released in a high-profile prisoner swap for Bout, a move that drew mixed reactions in the U.S.

On December 8, 2022, Griner was released in a high-profile prisoner swap for Bout, a move that drew mixed reactions in the U.S.

On December 8, 2022, Griner was released in a high-profile prisoner swap for Bout, a move that drew mixed reactions in the U.S.

and sparked debate about the ethics and implications of such exchanges .

Griner’s experiences in the Russian penitentiary system were marked by harsh and often inhumane conditions.

Griner’s experiences in the Russian penitentiary system were marked by harsh and often inhumane conditions.

Griner’s experiences in the Russian penitentiary system were marked by harsh and often inhumane conditions.

She was incarcerated in a penal colony in Mordovia, a region notorious for its severe climate and prison conditions, including inadequate heating, limited hot water, and reports of forced labor and abuse .

Title:

Content: Marc Fogel: Family of American man detained in Russia begs Biden, Blinken to add him to Britney Griner deal

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

The family of a man being detained in Russia is pleading with the highest ranks of the United States government to include the beloved Pennsylvania schoolteacher in their deal with the Kremlin to have those in its custody safely returned to the U.S.

“A 14 year sentence in a Russian prison colony is, at best, a life sentence and, at worst, a death sentence”

— Attorney assisting Fogel’s family

Marc Fogel, 60, is serving what attorneys have called an “exorbitant” 14-year sentence for being caught in Russia with medical marijuana that he used to treat a severe back injury. When news broke that the U.S. government was working on a deal to bring home Americans detained in Russia, his family and representatives had hoped Fogel would be on that list – and were devastated to learn otherwise.

“[It] was heart-wrenching, hearing he wasn’t included,” Fogel’s sister, Anne Fogel-Burchenal, told Fox News Digital on Friday.

After staying quiet to avoid risking impeding Fogel’s case, his sisters and relatives are speaking out.

RUSSIAN OFFICIALS RESPOND TO US OFFER FOR BRITTNEY GRINER, PAUL WHELAN: ‘NO AGREEMENTS HAVE BEEN FINALIZED’

“Our strategy was to play it low-key and cool through his sentencing, because that was what we thought was the right thing to do. But maybe it wasn’t. Maybe we should’ve been screaming and hollering all along,” Fogel-Burchenal said, when reached by phone.

Fearing the worst, they have since changed their plans for navigating the unimaginable.

“We are going to yell as loudly as we can and continue to until he gets home,” she went on. We aren’t going to let it rest.”

AMERICANS IN RUSSIA

From left to right: Marc Fogel, Brittney Griner, Paul Whelan
(Photo provided/Getty Images)

Fogel had worked as a teacher at school in Moscow for nearly ten years when he was stopped at an airport upon his return to Russia. He was in possession at the time of medical marijuana that his doctor recommended he take for “severe chronic pain” that was caused by years of spinal injuries and resulting surgeries.

US OFFERS ‘SUBSTANTIAL PROPOSAL’ TO BRING BRITTNEY GRINER, PAUL WHELAN HOME FROM RUSSIA

According to The Washington Post, he had approximately half an ounce of medically-prescribed marijuana when he was detained in August 2021. In June of this year, he was sentenced to 14 years in a Russian prison after he was convicted of “large-scale drugs smuggling,” according to reports.

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is escorted to a courtroom for a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, July 27, 2022.
(Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool Photo via AP)

Then, this week, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken revealed that the U.S. had offered to make a deal with Russia in exchange for two Americans, WNBA athlete Brittney Griner – who was also detained at a Russian airport on drug-related charges – and Michigan security executive Paul Whelan, who is serving a 16-year sentence for espionage charges that his family has completely rejected.

But Fogel was not included in the deal.

JACK BARSKY: WHAT A RUSSIAN SPY’S JOB MIGHT LOOK LIKE NOW, FROM ONE OF THE KGB’S ‘BEST-TRAINED’ DOUBLE AGENTS

An attorney assisting Fogel’s family with his case told Fox News Digital in an email that Fogel “fully cooperated with the investigation and prosecution; submitted substantial proof of prior medical treatment, of debilitating health conditions, and of his doctor’s recommendation for medical marijuana.”

Paul Whelan, a former US marine accused of espionage and arrested in Russia in December 2018, stands inside a defendants’ cage as he waits to hear his verdict in Moscow on June 15, 2020.
(Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)

His representatives shared dozens of references letters and evidence showing his lack of any criminal record.

“However, Marc’s exorbitant 14-year sentence, which is usually reserved to large-scale drug smugglers and murderers even in Russian courts, made it abundantly clear that Marc cannot obtain justice in Russia,” the attorney wrote.

The family has asked the U.S. State Department to classify Fogel as “wrongfully detained.” The designation, the attorney said,which would commit additional US government resources to securing his release and move to the jurisdiction of the US government’s Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs.”

“A request has been made for Marc’s Humanitarian Release due to his health conditions: given Marc’s age and health condition, a 14-year sentence in a Russian prison colony is, at best, a life sentence and, at worst, a death sentence,” the attorney continued. “We strongly believe that Marc should be included in any exchange deal the U.S. and Russia are negotiating.”

FAMILIES OF AMERICANS DETAINED IN RUSSIA AMID CONFLICT REMAIN HOPEFUL, DESPITE FEARS OF RUNNING OUT OF TIME

A State Department spokesperson said they were limited in what they could discuss because of privacy concerns, but said consular officers are working in many ways to help Fogel, whom they did not identify by name. The State Department is insisting that Russia continue to allow access to U.S. citizens detained there, and is urging the Russian government to ensure fair treatment and adequate medical care for detained Americans, the spokesperson said.

‘FROM CRITICAL TO DIRE’

Ellen Keelan, Fogel’s niece, told Fox News Digital neither she nor her family has spoken directly to Fogel in “almost a year,” and is instead limited to pre-screened and roughly translated letters that, in the end, don’t “even sound like him.” And they don’t know what actually gets to him, and in what state their messages to him end up being, she said.

“My understanding is he is okay … I don’t know if that is the right word,” Keelan said. But “nobody has been granted a phone call. Nobody has heard from him or seen his face.”

She added: “It’s just been a black box in communication. Every time we think we are going to get an answer, we are sent down another path.”

In just weeks, he will have been detained in Russia for one year.

“A 14-year sentence being forced to do hard labor – it’s not like we’re going to see him when he is 75. He is simply not going to survive this. We are fighting for his life.”

Marc Fogel in this undated photo provided by his family.
(Photos courtesy Ellen Keelan and Lisa Hyland)

She said the situation has gone “from critical to dire.”

“We are pleading with the Biden Administration to classify him as wrongfully detained,” she added. “Remember this is a real person – a husband and father and an amazing teacher – and we can’t let this be the end of his story.”

Fogel’s family has started a Change.org petition and is now trying to be as active as possible on social media. Keelan credited Griner’s case with “raising awareness” to Fogel’s story.

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His sister, Lisa Hyland, said she has been encouraged when she heard that Griner said to “bring all the wrongfully detained home.”

“This is above the State Department now,” she said. “This is President Biden, Secretary Blinken, Jill Biden, even – she’s a teacher. They have to do what they can. Otherwise, we are never going to see him again.”

Her attorney noted that the prison bed was uncomfortably small for her 6’9” frame, and Griner faced significant psychological distress, expressing fears of being forgotten and describing her time in prison as terrifying and traumatic .

Title:

Content: ‘She brings light’: Brittney Griner’s triumphant return to the WNBA

Prior to being detained in a Russian prison for 294 days, Brittney Griner was on top of the world.

The 32-year-old was coming off one of the best WNBA seasons of her career. She was the Most Valuable Player runner-up, averaging 20.5 points and 9.5 rebounds for the Phoenix Mercury, who she led back to the WNBA finals for the first time since winning the title in 2014. Meanwhile, Griner was on her way to play for Russian club UMMC Ekaterinburg, who she had led to four EuroLeague titles since she started spending her WNBA off-seasons there in 2014.

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At the time of her arrest Griner was, according to the testimony of her Russian teammate Evgenia Belyakova, “the most beloved player in Russia.”

To become such a popular figure in both America and Russia is no easy task for a gay, Black woman. But Griner’s ascent was never easy. She was bullied relentlessly growing up, first for her size and later for her sexuality, becoming one of the first active athletes in professional North American sports to come out as gay, shortly after being drafted No 1 overall by the Mercury in 2013.

In her first game as a pro, the 6ft 9in Griner towered over her opponents, changing the perceptions of what a female basketball player was capable of when she set a WNBA record with two dunks in a game. Griner went on to win a WNBA title, two Olympic gold medals, and seven WNBA All-Star appearances, on pace to achieve a level of greatness few ever have in the women’s game, and being marketed accordingly.

In fact, Griner was the first openly gay athlete to be endorsed by Nike. And the WNBA used her at the center of its marketing, acknowledging that gay athletes and LGBTQ+ activists like Griner were good for business.

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So when it all came crashing down at a Moscow airport on 17 February 2022, when Griner was found with vape cartridges containing traces of hashish oil in her luggage, not only did her career come to a screeching halt, but the league that she had been bound to since 2013 lost some of its forward momentum, too. She was later sentenced to nine years in Russian prison.

As much as Griner tried to stay positive, and as much as the WNBA community tried to help, a cloud hung over the entire 2022 season – one that would not dissipate until Griner was released and returned to America.

“Last year, it felt as though we couldn’t play with joy … It felt bad for us to be happy or to celebrate things because the weight of BG’s wrongful detainment weighed over us,” says former Mercury head coach Vanessa Nygaard.

When the US negotiated a prisoner swap to secure Griner’s freedom last December, she almost immediately announced her intention to return to the WNBA in 2023, signing a one-year deal with the Mercury. But nobody knew what to expect from Griner, who had spent almost a year under arduous physical and mental conditions.

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But, against all odds, Griner appears to be back to her normal self, on and off the court.

Related: WNBA power lies with two superteams. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing

In her first WNBA game in 579 days, Griner had 18 points, six rebounds and four blocks in a loss to the Los Angeles Sparks. In her first home game a couple of days later, she hit just the seventh three-pointer of her career, yelling “I’m back!” to the crowd of 14,000 cheering fans.

“I appreciate everything a little more,” Griner said about being back in the league. “All the little, small moments that I used to just [think]: ‘Oh, I’m so tired, I don’t want to go to practice today. And, oh, this and that.’ That has changed, honestly. Just appreciating everything because tomorrow’s not guaranteed.”

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Griner is averaging 19.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 2.4 blocks on a career-high 61.8% shooting through her first nine games of the 2023 season. She is back to being the Mercury’s best player, dominating in the post over swarms of defenders and blocking everything that comes her way on the other end of the floor. After being an honorary All-Star selection last season, Griner was named an All-Star starter on Sunday.

But what may be even more impressive is the enthusiasm and spirit she has brought to the Mercury and the WNBA, constantly flashing her trademark smile, joking around at press conferences, and uplifting her teammates at every opportunity.

“We were all hoping that she was going to be OK coming back, and that she did not lose her light, and she really didn’t,” says Mercury forward Megan Gustafson, adding that Griner’s presence has transformed the locker room. “I think we were a little bit surprised, because anyone that goes through an experience like that – I mean, I couldn’t even imagine being the same person. But she really is and I’m just so proud of her and just the light that she brings again … It’s really just her light, her positivity that [has] shone through.”

Sandy Brondello, who coached Griner in Phoenix for eight seasons prior to moving on to New York, is also glowing about the player’s return to the WNBA. “It’s like sometimes we sweat having a bad game – she was in prison,” says Brondello. “She had to live in prison for such a long time. So I think she has that joy. Just go out there and play.”

Griner has brought a lot of attention to the WNBA, which was already growing rapidly. Not only is the league averaging almost 1,000 more fans a game in Griner’s return season, but its broadcasts have also hit record viewership numbers – up 49% from last season across ESPN networks.

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“I think that if you look at last season, there was something and someone missing in the WNBA and that was obviously Brittney Griner,” former WNBA MVP and Griner’s one-time UMMC Ekaterinburg teammate Breanna Stewart says. “So the ability to have her back here kind of makes our circle complete, because she is such a force and a presence on and off the court and her ability to kind of be so dominant and aggressive but also such a kind, caring person – everybody’s missed that.”

Griner’s on-court play cannot be separated from her political advocacy off it, especially in a league as socially active as the WNBA. And Griner’s imprisonment has forced the WNBA to reckon with its lackluster treatment of athletes in the past, forcing the league to improve pay and travel standards so that the Griner situation does not repeat itself.

After all, the primary reason that Griner was in Russia in the first place is because her salary at UMMC Ekaterinburg is over $1m compared to the $165,100 she will make this year in the WNBA. In fact, 67 of the league’s 144 players still played internationally last off-season despite Griner’s detainment. Doing so is a financial necessity rather than a choice for most of the world’s best female basketball players.

The incident also highlighted concerns about commercial travel for WNBA players, many of whom are gay, Black women who can be targets of abuse. In fact, Griner has already been harassed this season when a conservative media personality confronted her and her teammates inside a Dallas airport in mid-June.

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In the past, the league has argued that charter flights create an unfair competitive advantage for teams that can afford to pay for them, fining the New York Liberty $500,000 for chartering flights last season. But the WNBA has already made improvements this season, allowing private flights for back-to-back games and for all playoff games. And after the news of Griner’s harassment and the pressure that came from it, the league recently announced that teams are permitted to fly on a public chartering service called JSX for the rest of the season.

It’s a step in the right direction that may not have been possible if not for Griner – a singular force who is as easy to galvanize around because of her on-court performances as she is for her personality. The league still has a long way to go in regards to growing the game and improving standards for its athletes, but Griner’s return has undoubtedly expedited the process.

“It’s a shame that it had to get to rock bottom. Because I feel like waiting for something to happen and then making a change, you don’t know what that something’s gonna be,” Griner said. “We’ve all seen what can happen in this world. And when you play the ‘let’s wait and see game,’ you’re really playing with fire. You’re playing with people’s lives.

“So I’m glad that they finally got it together and are going to allow us to do this. It’s just a shame that it took so damn long.”

She struggled with language barriers, relying on Google Translate to communicate with authorities, and testified that her rights were not explained to her upon detention .

Title:

Content: Commentary

Coach Baffled by Crowd Size for Brittney Griner's WNBA Return Game

Even if you’re a pretty big sports fan, you probably had no idea that the WNBA season tipped off on Friday.

And why would you? The league is as irrelevant as it’s ever been.

(In fact, it’s inarguable that women’s college basketball carries much more cultural heft than the WNBA currently, though not always for the best reasons.)

That being said, even if you couldn’t name a single WNBA franchise, you can actually probably name at least one WNBA star — Brittney Griner.

If that name is ringing any bells at all for you, it’s because you were keeping up with the sordid story of her detainment and arrest in Russia, when she was busted at a Russian airport for carrying hash oil.

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After being kept in, effectively, the gulags for 10 months, President Joe Biden and his administration were able to secure her safe return to the United States, albeit at a controversially steep cost.

Now safely back stateside and ready for things to return to normal, Griner was able to resume her typical duties as the Phoenix Mercury’s center on Friday.

While the Mercury were obliterated by the Los Angeles Sparks to the tune of a 94-71 loss, Griner notched a respectable 18 points, six rebounds and four blocks in the loss.

Frankly, there wasn’t much to be terribly critical about (aside from the game result) in regards to Griner’s grand return.

Would you ever attend one of Griner’s games?

In fact, according to ESPN, Griner even got a standing ovation and “welcome back” chants despite technically being a road player at the Los Angeles-based Cypto.com Arena.

That reception was apparently not enough for Mercury head coach Vanessa Nygaard, who was left scratching her head about the crowd size.

“It was great, but like honestly, come on L.A.,” Nygaard said after the game. “Like, we didn’t sell out the arena for [Griner]? Like I expected more. You know?

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“Let’s be honest.”

Okay then. Let’s.

According to the statistic database Statista, based on the WNBA’s average regular season attendance last season, the Sparks typically drew a crowd of about 5,600.

According to ESPN, 10,396 fans were at Crypto.com Arena, almost doubling the team’s average attendance from a season ago. Oh, and Vice President Kamala Harris was there too, for some reason.

Point being, Nygaard is either just factually wrong here, or she seems to have a wildly outsized opinion on the WNBA’s popularity.

“Like, it was great, it was loud,” Nygaard continued, before she became visibly baffled. “But, um… How is… How is it not a sellout? How is it not a sellout?”

It wasn’t a sellout because WNBA games seldom sell out. No amount of confused hand-wringing will change that fact.

But also, and this can’t be stressed enough: Brittney Griner is not some rock star of a saint.

What Griner went through in Russia was unjust. But it was also a fiasco of her own doing. No, people shouldn’t go to intensive labor camps for 10 months for carrying a small amount of recreational drugs on them. But unjust rules are still rules, and Griner broke another country’s.

It’s okay to both be happy that Griner is safely back with her family and appalled that America had to give up a notorious Russian arms dealer to do it. Nygaard can’t expect this to be some slam dunk cultural win. It’s polarizing, at best.

It is worth noting that for as obnoxiously clueless as the WNBA and its staff are, Griner has, for now, followed through on her word of having a newfound appreciation for the national anthem.

In the midst of the George Floyd hysteria, Griner derided the playing of “The Star Spangled Banner” as some misguided form of social protest. Since returning from Russia, however, her tune has changed.

ESPN reported that Griner did, in fact, stand at attention for the playing of the national anthem before the game.

That act alone is hardly worth more people showing up to WNBA games. Respecting the national anthem is a bare minimum.

But if Griner and other WNBA stars actually do start embracing patriotism over leftism?

It probably won’t make a difference attendance-wise, but at least it would make the games more tolerable.

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Bryan Chai has written news and sports for The Western Journal for more than five years and has produced more than 1,300 stories. He specializes in the NBA and NFL as well as politics.
Bryan Chai has written news and sports for The Western Journal for more than five years and has produced more than 1,300 stories. He specializes in the NBA and NFL as well as politics. He graduated with a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona. He is an avid fan of sports, video games, politics and debate.
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Griner’s identity as a Black, openly gay woman heightened concerns for her safety and well-being, given the rising anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in Russia and the vulnerability of marginalized individuals in such environments .

Title:

Content: Breaking News
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Brittney Griner's prison swap deal brings praise, criticism among East Texans

WNBA star Brittney Griner is free and on her way home today after spending months in a Russian prison.

TYLER, Texas — WNBA star Brittney Griner is finally released from Russian prison after she was sentenced for possession of cannabis oil.

The athletic community in Tyler feels personally touched by her return.

"Brittney Griner is one of those public figures that we know personally through sports and through being an African American female and African American athlete, through playing pro basketball and playing overseas, too. So her story kind of touched me in a different way", said Tyler Junior College women's basketball head coach Trenia Tellis Hoard.

This return home was able to happen through a prison swap deal for Viktor Bout. Texas politicians are raising concerns for not including former Marine Paul Whelan in this swap.

"I am concerned that the individual who was traded for Brittney Griner is someone who was actually an arms dealer who was selling arms to people who want to kill Americans. That's very dangerous," said State Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler.

For Tellis Hoard, this serves as a lesson for her team to learn from. And as for Whelan’s future, all we can do is hope he finds freedom like Britney Griner has.

"President Biden said that they will continue to try to bring Paul home in my prayers that that will happen." Schaefer said.

Before You Leave, Check This Out

The American government’s response to Griner’s detention was shaped by both public advocacy and diplomatic strategy.

The American government’s response to Griner’s detention was shaped by both public advocacy and diplomatic strategy.

The American government’s response to Griner’s detention was shaped by both public advocacy and diplomatic strategy.

The case attracted widespread attention from fans, athletes, and advocacy groups, with the WNBA and its players rallying around Griner and using her case to highlight the need for better protections for athletes abroad .

Title:

Content: Breaking News
More () »

Brittney Griner's prison swap deal brings praise, criticism among East Texans

WNBA star Brittney Griner is free and on her way home today after spending months in a Russian prison.

TYLER, Texas — WNBA star Brittney Griner is finally released from Russian prison after she was sentenced for possession of cannabis oil.

The athletic community in Tyler feels personally touched by her return.

"Brittney Griner is one of those public figures that we know personally through sports and through being an African American female and African American athlete, through playing pro basketball and playing overseas, too. So her story kind of touched me in a different way", said Tyler Junior College women's basketball head coach Trenia Tellis Hoard.

This return home was able to happen through a prison swap deal for Viktor Bout. Texas politicians are raising concerns for not including former Marine Paul Whelan in this swap.

"I am concerned that the individual who was traded for Brittney Griner is someone who was actually an arms dealer who was selling arms to people who want to kill Americans. That's very dangerous," said State Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler.

For Tellis Hoard, this serves as a lesson for her team to learn from. And as for Whelan’s future, all we can do is hope he finds freedom like Britney Griner has.

"President Biden said that they will continue to try to bring Paul home in my prayers that that will happen." Schaefer said.

Before You Leave, Check This Out

Title:

Content: Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner arrives in San Antonio after 10 months in Russian custody

Griner was transported to Brook Army Medical Center's reintegration center upon her arrival.

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Instagram / brittneyyevettegriner
WNBA star Brittney Griner spent 294 days in Russian custody after customs officials in Moscow allegedly discovered vape canisters containing cannabinoid oil in her luggage.
WNBA star Brittney Griner touched down at San Antonio’s former Kelly Air Force base early Friday morning after 10 months in Russian custody, according to media reports.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist was smiling as she stepped off the plane at 4:30 a.m., the Express-News reports. Following her arrival, she was transported to Brooke Army Medical Center’s reintegration facility, where she will receive any necessary medical treatment.

Medical experts from UT Health San Antonio told KSAT that Griner also may undergo extensive mental health evaluations.

In February, Griner was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport after customs officials allegedly found vape canisters continuing cannabinoid oil in her luggage. In August, she pled guilty to the charges and was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony. She spent 294 days in Russian custody, according to the daily.

The basketball star was released in a prisoner swap between the U.S. and Russia on Thursday, in which the Biden administration handed over notorious international arms dealer Viktor Bout.

In a statement, Griner's family offered “sincere gratitude” to President Joe Biden and his administration for their efforts in bringing her home, according to the Express-News. It is unclear how long Griner will be in San Antonio before returning home to her family.

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Social media campaigns, such as #WeAreBG, played a crucial role in keeping her story in the public eye and maintaining pressure on the U.S.

Social media campaigns, such as #WeAreBG, played a crucial role in keeping her story in the public eye and maintaining pressure on the U.S.

Social media campaigns, such as #WeAreBG, played a crucial role in keeping her story in the public eye and maintaining pressure on the U.S.

government to act .

Title:

Content: Diplomat Sparks Renewed Hope For Brittney Griner Prisoner Exchange

The situation surrounding Brittney Griner's case is looking a little less bleak, thanks to the recent developments brought about by negotiations between the U.S. and Russia.

In early November, the WNBA star had been transferred to a penal colony in the Russian republic of Mordovia. There, she began fulfilling her nine-year sentence for drug possession. As reported by Reuters, authorities initially arrested Griner in February 2022 after vape cartridges containing cannabis oil were discovered in her luggage at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. While she attempted to appeal the ruling, it was ultimately upheld by a Russian court.

"This has been [a] very traumatic experience, waiting for this day, waiting for the first court, and getting nine years for a crime that I was barely over the significant amount," she said at the hearing (via CBS News). "I don't understand the first court's decision to give one year less than the max when I've been here almost 8 months, and people with more severe crimes have gotten less than what I was given... I really hope that the court will adjust this sentence, because it's been very, very stressful and very traumatic to my mental and psyche, being away from my family and not being able to communicate." However, there is now renewed hope that Griner could be released, with a Russian diplomat claiming that a swap could happen sometime in the future.

Russian diplomat says there's 'always a chance' for a swap

Not all hope is lost, after all. According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Russia is not turning its back on the possibility of a prisoner exchange with the U.S. As reported by the New York Post, Ryabkov told reporters that there is "always a chance" when asked about the likelihood of a swap taking place before the end of the year. However, he noted that in the past, there had been multiple instances when it seemed as if Russia would agree to a swap, only for the plan to fall apart. If the prisoner swap does take place, Ryabkov said it would "send a positive signal that not everything is hopeless in Russian-American relations."

In the meantime, it looks like Brittney Griner has her work cut out for her. Maria Alyokhina, a former member of the band Pussy Riot, didn't mince words when she spoke to NPR about her own experience at a Russian penal colony. "It has a bit better conditions than [the] original gulag system from the 1950s," she said, but added that it's still "a labor camp." She described the grim reality she endured while serving out her own sentence, calling it inhumane. "For 100 women, there are like three toilets and no hot water," she recalled, adding that the penal colony is merely a "legal slavery system."

According to a statement released by her lawyers (via BBC), she is trying her best to survive and is "doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong as she adapts to a new environment."

Title:

Content: PHOENIX (AP) — They shared laughs, smiles, memories. There also were tears, fears, unease.

Through the range of emotions, one common thread bonded them together: Brittney Griner.

Wearing “BG” shirts and holding signs, several hundred fans gathered for a public rally in support of Griner on Wednesday, hoping their sentiments would reach the WNBA player 6,000 miles away in a Russian jail cell.

“It’s really painful and hard to watch, and it’s really taken a toll on a lot of us,” said Kelly Gedney of Surprise, Arizona. “We can feel the fear that she has. It’s scary to me that she’s in a cage when she is traveling to her court cases. She’s been wrongfully detained and we’re going to do everything we can to get her home.”

Griner has spent the past four months in a Russian prison and is currently on trial. She’s accused of possessing vape cartridges containing cannabis oil when she arrived at the Moscow airport while returning to play for her Russian team, facing a prison term of up to 10 years if convicted.

The WNBA and U.S. officials have worked to free Griner, without success. Griner was able to send a handwritten letter to President Joe Biden, saying she feared spending the rest of her life in prison while pushing the administration to not forget about other American detainees.

President Biden called Griner’s wife, Cherelle, on Wednesday to tell her that he is working to free her as soon as possible.

“One hundred thirty-nine days have passed since my wife has been able to speak to me, to our family and our friends,” Cherelle Griner said during the rally, stopping to compose herself several times. “I’m frustrated my wife is not going to get justice. I know you all are frustrated, too. That’s why you’re here.”

The rally at the Footprint Center, home of the Phoenix Mercury and Suns, was part celebration of Griner’s accomplishments on and off the court with a call to action.

The rally featured videos of Griner giving back to the community, dancers and a dramatic poem reading as many of Mercury teammates sat together in chairs on the right side of the court.

Phoenix Suns player Torey Craig spoke, as did Mercury player Brianna Turner.

“To know BG is to know such a kind spirit, a nice person, such a giver — I can go on and on about the type of person she is,” said Turner, who also was able to exchange letters with Griner. “We need to get her back home. She deserves to be home. She needs to be back with her family and friends. We are BG.”

Arizona Congressman Greg Stanton, the former Phoenix mayor, also was on hand after pushing a resolution calling for Griner’s immediate release passed by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this week.

“Today was important, a show of unity, speaking in one voice that we expect our president, our administration to do what it takes to bring our fellow American back home,” Stanton said.

___

To see more AP stories on Griner: https://apnews.com/hub/brittney-griner

Prominent sports figures and celebrities, including LeBron James and Stephen Curry, publicly advocated for her release, amplifying the call for action .

The administration’s decision to exchange Griner for Bout was met with both celebration and criticism, with some arguing that the deal set a dangerous precedent and others expressing disappointment that Paul Whelan remained imprisoned .

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A Russian court has sentenced Brittney Griner to 9 years in prison on drug charges

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Guilty was the verdict in Moscow today, and the sentence was severe. A Russian court gave American basketball star Brittney Griner nine years in prison. This was right after the judge convicted her of drug smuggling and possession over the small amount of hash oil she says she accidentally brought into the country. The sentence was just shy of the 9 1/2 years that the prosecution requested. All of this plays out against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and negotiations between the U.S. and Russia for a possible prisoner swap. NPR's Charles Maynes was at the courthouse and has our story.

CHARLES MAYNES, BYLINE: It's been six full months since Brittney Griner was first detained while rushing to catch a flight at a Moscow airport as she arrived for Russian League play. Yet it took just one afternoon at a Moscow courthouse for the judge to rush through closing arguments and issue her verdict.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).

MAYNES: As Griner sat in the cage listening through an interpreter, the judge said the basketball star had knowingly possessed and transported cannabis oil into Russia and should face nine years in prison as a result.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).

MAYNES: "Do you understand the ruling," said the judge to a stone-faced Griner, who responded...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BRITTNEY GRINER: Yes, I understand, Your Honor.

MAYNES: With the ruling, the judge rejected Griner's explanation that the substance, less than a gram of hash oil, was legally obtained in the U.S. through a doctor to treat chronic pain or that she had never intentionally violated Russian law, a point Griner emphasized in a final plea ahead of the ruling.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GRINER: I made an honest mistake. And I hope that, in your ruling, that it doesn't end my life here.

MAYNES: She also expressed remorse that her actions had embarrassed her fans and teammates at her Russian club, UMMC of Yekaterinburg, where she's played for years.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GRINER: Again, I want to apologize to my teammates and the organization, UMMC, for any damage that I may have done to them. I never intended on hurting them. This is my second home, and all I wanted to do is just win championships and make them proud.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).

MAYNES: Following the ruling, Griner's lawyers said they would appeal a decision that defied sentencing norms even for Russians, who would themselves receive lighter sentences or possibly even probation. The defense team also expressed frustration that the court completely ignored their arguments for leniency based on Griner's contribution to Russian women's basketball, as well as procedural violation of Griner's rights during her arrest. After the hearing, Griner's lawyer, Maria Blagovolina, acknowledged that while her client did not expected miracles, the shock of a nine-year sentence still lingered with all of them.

MARIA BLAGOVOLINA: We feel disappointment. You know, when we saw Brittney, I think it was Tuesday. And we told her, see you on Thursday. And she said, see you on doomsday. So looks like she was right.

MAYNES: It appears a legal case that has unfolded against the backdrop of plummeting U.S.-Russian relations over the conflict in Ukraine now moves entirely into the political arena. President Biden immediately issued a statement condemning the ruling. And outside the courthouse, the U.S. Embassy's deputy chief of mission, Elizabeth Rood, said the U.S. government would keep fighting to free Griner and other detained Americans in Russia.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ELIZABETH ROOD: This is a miscarriage of justice. The U.S. Department of State has determined that Ms. Griner was wrongfully detained. Nothing in today's decision changes that determination.

MAYNES: The White House has already acknowledged it made a substantial proposal to Russia to free Griner and another American, former Marine Paul Whelan. It's reported that the U.S. would be willing to exchange convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, currently in a prison in Illinois. The Kremlin has suggested closed-door negotiations might yield results once Griner's trial was over but said the talks shouldn't be public. But now that that's the case, and Grinder's nine-year sentence a reality, the price of what Moscow seeks in these negotiations may very well have gone up. Charles Maynes, NPR News, Moscow. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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Brittney Griner speaks to fans from her detention in Russian prison

On her 32nd birthday, Griner releases a statement to inform the #WeAreBG movement that their efforts are helping her cope.

It’s been tough to follow the story of Brittney Griner’s continued detention in Russia without feeling a sense of helplessness and wondering what can be done to help her. There have been few if any glimmers of hope in her situation — Russian prisons don’t really do hope.

But Griner just released a statement to her fans for the first time since she was arrested for possessing a vape pen with hashish oil back in February. And based on what she said, everyone’s efforts on her behalf are being heard and it is helping her make it through an otherwise bleak situation.

As CNN’s Ana Cabrera reported on Twitter, Griner’s message through her lawyer read: “Thank you everyone for fighting so hard to get me home. All the support and love are definitely helping me.”

Griner’s statement was sent out on her 32nd birthday on Tuesday. Throughout the day, the support and love she referenced was echoed throughout the sports world, with several prominent figures using their platform to amplify the #WeAreBG cause.

Billie Jean King reminded all of her followers that Griner has spent eight months living under unlawful detention.

The WNBA vowed to be front and center in continuing the fight to help secure her release and left it abundantly clear that there is a void in their league without her presence.

During the Golden State Warriors’ championship ring ceremony on their opening night, Stephen Curry told a capacity crowd that, “We want to continue to let her name be known…it’s been 243 days since she’s been wrongfully incarcerated in Russia. We hope that she comes home soon and everybody’s doing their part to get her home.”

Curry’s words were amplified by Christina Kahrl.

Finally, the Phoenix Mercury commemorated Griner’s birthday by showing everyone that although she’s being used as a pawn in a Kafkaesque nightmare, it’s important to remember all of her other qualities so that we never lose sight of her as a human being.

Let’s all keep fighting to ensure that we see that smile and that joy set free again very soon.

Upon her return to the United States, Griner underwent medical and mental health evaluations at a reintegration facility, reflecting the psychological toll of her nearly ten months in Russian custody .

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Content: The BDN Editorial Board operates independently from the newsroom, and does not set policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com.

American basketball star Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia since February. She has been facing drug possession charges for carrying vape cartridges in her luggage that contained cannabis oil. The charges carry a potential sentence of up to 10 years in jail.

Griner pleaded guilty to the drug charges in Russian court Thursday, while stressing that she had packed in a hurry and not intended to break Russian law. Regardless of Thursday’s plea, observers have not expected Griner to receive justice in the Russian legal system.

Griner’s wife, Cherelle, has accurately called her a “political pawn” caught up in the fraught relationship between the U.S. and Russia amid the latter’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine. There should be little doubt that Griner’s detention is bigger than vape cartridges.

With frustrations increasingly being voiced by Griner’s family that President Joe Biden and his administration haven’t been doing enough to help her, Griner sent a letter to Biden on Monday asking for assistance for herself and other American detainees. For example, Paul Whelan, who also previously served in the Marines, was accused of being a spy and sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020.

“As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever,” Griner wrote in her July 4 letter to Biden.

Marine veteran Trevor Reed knows a thing or two about what Griner and Whelan are going through. Reed was detained in Russia for three years before being released in April as part of a prisoner exchange.

“There is no justice in Russia,” Reed told CNN in June. “Brittney and Paul will not receive justice in Russia. They’re not going to receive a fair trial, they will not receive a fair investigation. They will be there as hostages until the United States gets them out.”

He added that Griner was likely to be treated worse in Russia because of her race and sexual orientation, saying that the country “systematically discriminates” against Black and LGBTQ+ people.

There is only so much the Biden administration can do with Griner in the custody of an authoritarian government known for making examples out of political prisoners, and likely looking for a bargaining chip as it continues its barbaric invasion of Ukraine. Though as demonstrated by Reed’s release, there are options. It must not take three years.

At the very least, for now, Biden and his team can control how they communicate and reassure Griner’s family. And on that front, it seems the administration had been coming up short.

Griner’s family and friends had criticized the Biden administration’s handling of her case, and called for the president to meet with them. On Wednesday, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris finally had a phone call with Cherelle Griner.

“The president called Cherelle to reassure her that he is working to secure Brittney’s release as soon as possible, as well as the release of Paul Whelan and other U.S. nationals who are wrongfully detained or held hostage in Russia and around the world,” the White House said in a statement after the call. “He also read her a draft of the letter the president is sending to Brittney today.”

That statement also noted that top administration officials have already had calls with Cherelle Griner in recent weeks, and said Biden has directed his national security team to stay in “regular contact” with the Griner family. A U.S. diplomat said they delivered Biden’s letter to Griner at Thursday’s proceedings.

Biden’s call with Griner’s wife was an initial step, and the ultimate goal must be a quick release for Griner and other political prisoners. There is much work left for the administration to do, including a continual commitment to assure Griner’s family that the U.S. is exploring all possible options to secure her release. And hopefully the attention will elevate the pressure to help return other Americans like Whelan as well.

“Write them, call them, annoy them, don’t leave them alone,” Reed said in June about pressuring federal representatives to act. “Tell them you want Brittney home and you want the rest of the Americans who are being wrongfully detained home, and you want it done now.”

Add us to the list of people looking to raise the pressure on the Biden administration to bring home wrongfully detained Americans like Griner, who are essentially hostages, and to bring them home quickly.

The BDN Editorial Board

The Bangor Daily News editorial board members are Publisher Richard J. Warren, Editorial Page Editor Susan Young, Assistant Editorial Page Editor Matt Junker and BDN President Todd Benoit. Young has worked...

Title:

Content: After Brittney Griner's Release, Paul Whelan's Family Continues Fighting to Bring Him Home

KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Paul Whelan behind bars in Russia

Fans and supporters around the world celebrated when WNBA star Brittney Griner was recently released from a Russian prison, but David Whelan admits he felt hopeless when his brother, Paul, was not on the plane home with her. For the past four years, his twin brother has been held in a Russian work camp, and the family hoped he would return with Griner.

"We saw Trevor Reed come home, and Paul didn't come home. We saw Brittney Griner come home, and Paul didn't come home. You start to wonder, 'How many more shots is the U.S. government going to be able to take, and when will the Russian government, if ever, decide that they have been given what they want in order to release Paul?'" David Whelan tells PEOPLE. "It's hard to keep up your optimism, your hope for year after year, after year."

RELATED: Paul Whelan, Imprisoned in Russia Since 2018, Is 'Disappointed' in U.S. Efforts to Secure His Release

David, a 52-year-old law librarian in San Diego, reads Russian news every day, searching for something to help his brother's case.

"I get up every day to try and bring Paul home," he says. "There's never really a time of the day that I'm not thinking about Paul's case."

Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS/ZUMA Brittney Griner during her detention in Russia

The last time David spoke to his twin was in October 2018. Another former Marine had asked Paul to come help at his wedding to a Russian woman. Paul was hesitant to go, David remembers, worrying about leaving their elderly parents in Michigan — their mother had recently slipped on ice.

"He was concerned about them, he wasn't at all concerned about himself," says David. "In hindsight, we realize now that he was really the one who was going to be in danger, not them."

RELATED: Paul Whelan's Family Is 'Devastated' He Remains in Russia, but 'Glad' Brittney Griner Was Released

A former U.S. Marine, Paul had traveled to Russia a number of times. "He hadn't wanted to go back to Russia, he'd already been to Russia that year just to see a friend," David remembers. "But he went to help his friend."

"He's a good person. He's a good friend to a lot of people," David adds.

Paul was handed a USB drive by a Russian friend at a Moscow Hotel on Dec. 28, 2018. And before he even looked at it, he'd been arrested and charged with espionage, his brother says.

"The case was tried in secret, so the evidence was never actually shown to anybody," his brother says. Paul is now in a Russian labor colony.

RELATED: American Detained in Russia on Espionage Charges 'Is Not Our Spy,' Security Source Says

Maxim Grigoryev/TASS/ZUMA Press

Paul calls his parents — now ages 85 and 83 — every day around 1 p.m. If he doesn't call, they worry more.

"When those calls come, it's not like you can just talk about, 'How's your day at work? What are you having for dinner?' That sort of stuff. You're talking about, 'How do we get you food? What sort of medicine do you need right now?' It's always about the business of staying alive," David says.

His brother is "undergoing daily peril, daily torment," David says. "He's woken up every two hours every night because they consider him a flight risk."

RELATED: Jailed American Sarah Krivanek Writes from Russian Penal Colony: 'My Soul Is in Torment'

David says his brother is lucky, in a way, because he has three siblings at home helping him and fighting for his release. Their other brother handles Paul's finances, David scours Russian news and does media interviews (he wrote a guidebook for other families), and their sister makes regular trips to Washington, D.C., meeting with legislators to help bring their brother home.

"That led to, I think, three Senate and House resolutions for his release. She obviously has then started lobbying into the State Department and other agencies to try and get his release. And she's been fortunate enough to speak twice now with President Biden," David says.

"It's been a lot of talking to people who can help Paul to get free, because it's really a government issue, it's not terrorists — although the Russian government sometimes acts like it," he continues. "But the only people who can release Paul are the Russian government, and the only people who can persuade the Russian government to do it are the U.S. government. So we've spent a lot of time trying to get their attention."

RELATED: President Biden Says Administration Is 'Not Giving Up' on Bringing Paul Whelan Home After Griner's Release

Jack Gruber-USA TODAY/Sipa USA

The Whelans are not the only family lobbying lawmakers, and pleading for help, in bringing their loved ones home.

"It's hard," David says. "There are dozens and dozens of American families who have a wrongfully detained loved one, like Paul."

For example, Trevor Reed's parents and sister fought tirelessly to bring Reed home — meeting with legislators and spending their retirement savings on Russian lawyers.

Reed, 31, is also a former U.S. Marine who served as a presidential guard. He got drunk at a party, and got sick on the ride home. When the women driving him home couldn't physically get him back in the vehicle, they asked police for help, Jonathan Franks, a spokesperson for the Reed family tells PEOPLE.

Instead, Reed was arrested and charged with endangering the life and health of Russian police officers. In July 2020, Reed was sentenced to nine years in prison.

Reed was taken captive on Aug. 15, 2019, and held for 985 days. He returned home to the U.S. on April 27 of this year.

RELATED: Former Marine Trevor Reed Released from Russia in Prisoner Swap: 'Like a Movie,' He Says

"His first words on the plane were, 'Where's Paul?'" says Franks, a crisis management consultant and spokesman and strategist for the Bring Our Families Home Campaign. Instead of focusing on himself, and healing, Reed dove into trying to bring others — like Paul Whelan — home.

"I have never been told by a client before, 'The goal is not for me to get better. The goal is for me to make a difference for all these other hostages, because I came home first.' He has just been absolutely driven. I hear from him every day about what we can do to bring more people home," says Franks.

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"We have to go back and get Paul Whelan, whatever it takes," Franks adds. "We've got to get him back."

David says he's holding out hope that his parents are still alive when his brother is released. "I just hope to say, 'Welcome home.'"

She and her wife, Cherelle, focused on healing and rebuilding their lives, with Griner expressing a renewed appreciation for life and her career, stating, “I appreciate everything a little bit more now...

She and her wife, Cherelle, focused on healing and rebuilding their lives, with Griner expressing a renewed appreciation for life and her career, stating, “I appreciate everything a little bit more now...

tomorrow is not guaranteed” .

Title:

Content: The open letter to President Biden, written by hand and released on the Fourth of July, tore at the heart. This is the unfortunate plight of Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner, wrongfully detained for 143 days and counting in a godforsaken gulag 6,000 miles from home.

“As I sit here in a Russian prison,” Griner wrote, “alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever.” She went on to beseech Biden: “I realize you are dealing with so much, but please don’t forget about me and the other American Detainees. Please do all you can to bring us home.”

We have been told by the White House press secretary that Biden has read the letter. We also have been told his Administration will “use every tool we possibly can” to bring Griner home. I hope so, because Russian news reports have said Griner, arrested on Feb. 17th, faces up to 10 years in prison for allegedly having .702 grams of hash oil in two vape cartridges in her luggage. She pleaded guilty to drug charges on July 7.

Biden and the U.S. State Department should use every tool in America’s toolbox to secure Griner’s release – exactly as he should on behalf of the more than 60 Americans currently held hostage in foreign countries.

Like Paul Whelan, a former Marine wrongfully detained in Russia since 2018. Like “the Citgo 6,” petroleum executives wrongfully held in Venezuela since 2017. And like Alina Lopez-Miyares, wrongfully locked up in a Cuban prison since January 2017.

In a more just world, we would care about all these Americans with the same vigor and at the same loud volume. The truth? As a culture, we have a limited attention span, a finite amount of compassion we spend in dollops – a sprinkling for the homeless here, a few spoonsful for the struggling poor there, and a drip or two for Brittney Griner.

Is that right? I don’t think so. I wish

we had an endless reserve of compassion, enough to go around in the right proportions.

Even so, I disagree wholeheartedly with Mercury head coach Vanessa Nygaard, who took dead aim at America in comments supporting Griner last week.

“If it was LeBron, he’d be home, right?” Nygaard declared. “It’s a statement about the value of women. It’s a statement about the value of a black person. It’s a statement about the value of a gay person. All of those. We know it.”

Actually, it’s a statement about how little we pay attention to wrongful detainees and their suffering. Virtually no one save the families of the imprisoned has made a peep about wrongfully imprisoned Americans anywhere, about Whelan, the Citgo 6, or Lopez-Miyares. This silence has nothing to do with race, gender, or who someone loves. It has everything to do with our culture’s capacity to empathize.

Nygaard seems to think if Griner was male, white and straight, America would be threatening nuclear war. Reality says otherwise. Nygaard is correct about one thing, though. If Lebron James was wrongfully imprisoned, Americans would be rioting in the streets.

That has everything to do with celebrity, which is the only reason you have heard about Brittney Griner’s case at all. If Griner couldn’t dribble, couldn’t dunk, wasn’t a six-time WBNA All-Star, her imprisonment would be occurring in silence.

Nygaard is dead wrong about for whom we care and why. We reserve the greatest compassion for the most famous among us – that is a perverted truth about the American way.

I hope Brittney Griner comes home soon. And I hope we bring every other wrongfully detained American home with her.

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Brittney Griner returns to WNBA, meets Kamala Harris

5 minutes ago

Griner returned to the basketball court after being detained in Russia for narcotics possession and trafficking. She was released during a high profile prisoner swap.

https://p.dw.com/p/4RbLo

US basketball star Brittney Griner made a return to the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) late Friday in Los Angeles, receiving an enthusiastic welcome from the crowd, which included Vice President Kamala Harris.

Griner on return to court: 'It felt good'

Griner, who was released from a Russian penal colony in a high-profile prisoner exchange with the US last year, was embraced by Harris on the court before the game.

"It felt good, it felt real good. It felt like the last time I played," Griner said with a smile, reflecting on her shot after missing the entire previous season while detained in Russia for nearly 10 months. She expressed her gratitude towards fans and supporters.

Griner, from the visiting Phoenix Mercury team, appeared emotional during her introduction, and the crowd erupted with cheers when she made a 17-foot (2.1-meter) jumper on her first attempt of the contest.

Outside the arena, Nike billboards displayed a photo of Griner with the caption "Basketball is Home."

Phoenix coach Vanessa Nygaard described her return as a "day of joy."

"All last season I opened every press conference with how many days she is gone. And until the day when we got the news in the morning that she was on her way home, no one thought that it was going to happen," she said in pre-game remarks.

Why had Griner been imprisoned in Russia?

The two-time Olympic gold medalist was taken into custody at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport in February 2022 and later convicted of narcotics possession and trafficking. She had been found carrying vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.

She was then sentenced to nine years in prison. However, she maintained that she had been prescribed medical cannabis in the United States for a chronic injury and never intended to break the law.

Brittney Griner set to make WNBA return

US officials claimed she was wrongly detained and used as a political pawn during a period of strained relations with Moscow.

"I appreciate everything a little bit more now," Griner said. "All the little, small moments. I used to say, oh I'm so tired, I don't want to go to practice today. I think that has changed. I'm just appreciating everything because tomorrow is not guaranteed. You don't know what it's going to look like."

As she kicked off her 10th season with the Mercury, the 32-year-old two-time Olympic champion expressed a renewed perspective on the sport.

The game saw notable figures in attendance, including tennis Hall of Famer Billie Jean King and Lakers legend Magic Johnson. The Los Angeles Sparks won with a score of 94-71.

Griner had previously played in a pre-season game one week ago.

tg/wd (Reuters, AP)

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Griner re-signed with the Phoenix Mercury for the 2023 WNBA season and began light workouts, signaling her intention to return to professional basketball while taking time to fully recover .

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US marks 4 years of Paul Whelan’s Russian imprisonment, vows to bring him home

New York Post
 2 days ago

WASHINGTON — The White House insisted Wednesday the US has not given up the fight to bring former Marine Paul Whelan home from Russian custody as the Biden administration marked the fourth anniversary of his detention on trumped-up spying charges.

“Today marks four years of wrongful detention in Russia for American Paul Whelan and, as the President and I have told the Whelan family, we will not stop, we will not relent, we will not cease until all Americans can celebrate Paul’s return,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement.

Whelan, 52, was sentenced to 16 years of hard labor in 2020 after a Russian court found him guilty of espionage — a claim both Whelan and the US government continue to deny. Whelan had traveled to Russia for a wedding when he was “wrongfully detained,” according to the White House.

Earlier this month, the US secured WNBA star Brittney Griner’s release in a prisoner exchange for notorious international arms dealer Viktor Bout. Griner’s release came almost 10 months after she was arrested on drug charges at a Moscow airport.

The US had attempted to bring Whelan home with Griner, but the White House said Russia insisted on a one-for-one swap, giving Washington “a choice between bringing home one particular American, Brittney Griner, or bringing home none,” as one official put it.

After the deal was announced, Whelan’s family issued a statement that supported Griner’s release, while noting the decision was a “ public disappointment for us and a catastrophe for Paul.”

Sullivan on Wednesday accused Russia of using Whelan as a pawn to secure concessions — such as the release of other Russian prisoners . The White House said last week that “there are active conversations” with the Kremlin about securing the Michigan corporate security executive’s freedom.

“Paul and the Whelan family recently showed the entire country the meaning of generosity of spirit in celebrating a fellow American’s return while Russia continues its deplorable treatment of Paul as a bargaining chip,” Sullivan said.

Whelan’s brother David said in a statement that the anniversary brought heartbreak and concern for the family, the Washington Examiner reported Wednesday.

“Milestones are always hard,” David Whelan said. “Four birthdays, four Christmases, and now the 4th anniversary of Paul’s wrongful detention. I think we share the same concern as every family in this situation, which is that, with each passing year, it will become harder to bring Paul home.”

She also announced plans to publish a memoir in spring 2024, aiming to raise awareness about the experiences of Americans detained overseas and the broader issues at the intersection of sports, gender, and international politics .

Title:

Content: Brittney Griner Asks Fans, Advocates to Write Letters to Paul Whelan: 'It's Our Turn to Support'

The WNBA star shared Whelan's mailing address and said, "I hope you'll join me in writing to Paul Whelan and continuing to advocate for other Americans to be rescued and returned to their families"

Brittney Griner has a request for her supporters this holiday season.

The WNBA star, who was released from Russian custody on Dec. 8, penned a handwritten letter to her Instagram followers on Wednesday morning, asking those who helped advocate for her safe return to do the same for Paul Whelan and other families of wrongfully detained loved ones.

"Thanks to the efforts of many, including you, I am home after nearly 10 months," Griner wrote. "You took time to show me you cared, and I want to personally take the time to write to you and say that your effort mattered."

Griner said the letters she received from fans and friends, through the #WeAreBG campaign, helped her "to not lose hope during a time" filled with "regret."

She described her feeling "vulnerable in ways I could have never imagined," in the letter.

The Phoenix Mercury center thanked those who wrote to her "from the bottom of my heart" and said that it was because of those communications of support that she "never lost hope" over the course of her detainment.

The letters were "bigger than uplifting" for the WNBA star, though. Griner explained that the thousands of messages she received showed her "the power of collective hands" and now, she hopes to help Whelan, the former U.S. marine who has been imprisoned in Russia for four years on espionage charges, and other detained Americans, come home.

"Together, we can do hard things," Griner wrote. "I'm living proof of that."

"My family is whole and now, thanks to you, we are fortunate to get to spend the holidays together," she wrote. "However, there remain too many families with loved ones wrongfully detained."

Griner explained, "Those families stood alongside you and all who supported the #WeAreBG campaign to bring me home, and it's our turn to support them. I hope you'll join me in writing to Paul Whelan and continuing to advocate for other Americans to be rescued and returned to their families."

Griner ended her letter by thanking fans once more, adding, "I hope your holiday season is full of joy and love."

She included Whelan's mailing address at the bottom of her note. He is currently receiving mail through the American Citizen Services Unit Consular, per the address.

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Griner's intention to help Whelan and other Americans was first confirmed by her agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, in an ESPN interview after her release. Colas said both Griner and her wife, Cherelle, plan to "raise attention" for other families with loved ones detained abroad.

When Cherelle spoke from the White House following the announcement of Brittney's return, she said, "Today my family is whole, but as you are all aware, there are so many families who are not whole."

She added that she will continue advocating for "getting every American home, including Paul, whose family is in our hearts today."

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Griner’s case has had a significant cultural and social impact, sparking important conversations about the intersection of race, gender, and sexuality in sports.

Griner’s case has had a significant cultural and social impact, sparking important conversations about the intersection of race, gender, and sexuality in sports.

Griner’s case has had a significant cultural and social impact, sparking important conversations about the intersection of race, gender, and sexuality in sports.

As a Black, openly gay woman, her situation drew attention to the unique vulnerabilities faced by marginalized athletes, especially in hostile international environments .

Title:

Content: Democracy Dies in Darkness

Viktor Bout says he wished Brittney Griner luck during prisoner swap

Viktor Bout, the notorious Russian arms dealer swapped in a prisoner exchange for U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, said he wished the WNBA player luck as the pair briefly passed one another in Abu Dhabi last week.

“I wished her good luck, she even extended her hand,” Bout, who is nicknamed the “Merchant of Death,” told Russia’s state-run RT television network Saturday. “Our tradition is to wish everyone good luck and happiness.”

Asked if Griner engaged with him during the high-level exchange, the 55-year-old said: “Yes, she did and I felt she was very positive towards me.”

Edited video clips of the pair shared by Russian state media on Thursday does not appear to show the two conversing, and Griner has not commented on the alleged interaction. In the footage, Griner can be seen flanked by three Russian men in suits and Bout accompanied by an American man in khakis. The two walk by one another on the tarmac, plane engines whirring in the background, before Bout embraces the Russian men and Griner leaves with the American.

In his Saturday interview, Bout also expressed support for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, saying he believes Moscow should have launched action “sooner.”

“I fully support it,” he said of the war. “If I had the opportunity and the necessary skills, I would certainly volunteer.”

His interview was conducted by Marina Butina, a Russian agent convicted and jailed in the United States for conspiring to infiltrate the National Rifle Association and other organizations without registering with authorities. She was released and deported back to Russia in October 2019.

Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who was set to play in Russia during the WNBA offseason, was arrested at an airport near Moscow in February. She was sentenced to 9½ years in prison after bringing vape cartridges containing a small amount of cannabis oil in her luggage, which is illegal in Russia. Griner said it was an honest mistake and her lawyers said she had a prescription to treat chronic pain and other conditions.

Who is Viktor Bout, Russian arms dealer swapped for Brittney Griner?

Bout was serving a 25-year sentence at a medium-security prison in Illinois for conspiring to kill U.S. nationals and selling weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) when President Biden approved his release and commuted his sentence. The Kremlin had long called for Bout’s release, calling his conviction “unlawful.”

In a separate Friday interview with RT, also with Butina, Bout said it was difficult to describe his new freedom.

“It’s hard to even find the right words to describe it all,” he said, before adding he did not believe himself to be “any way important” to Russian politics or Putin.

“We don’t leave our own people behind, right?” he said of Russia’s fight for his release.

Russia wanted Viktor Bout back, badly. The question is: Why?

Griner touched down in San Antonio early Friday, ending a nearly 10-month saga that landed one of the world’s best women’s basketball players at the heart of U.S.-Russia tensions. Officials said Griner would receive medical treatment and other support after her detainment in Russia.

Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, celebrated her partner’s return home in a Saturday Instagram post, adding that the couple are recovering from their time apart.

“As BG and I start our journey to heal our minds, bodies, and spirits— I wanted to personally say thank you to some of the hands; seen and unseen, that helped make it possible for me to see my wife again!” she wrote.

Natalia Abbakumova, Miriam Berger, Mary Ilyushina, Arelis R. Hernández and Niha Masih contributed to this report.

The WNBA community and broader networks mobilized strongly in support of Griner, with over 1,200 Black women leaders publicly calling on President Biden to expedite efforts to secure her release .

Her return to the league was met with significant media attention and fanfare, symbolizing resilience and triumph over adversity .

Title:

Content: Breaking News
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Brittney Griner's prison swap deal brings praise, criticism among East Texans

WNBA star Brittney Griner is free and on her way home today after spending months in a Russian prison.

TYLER, Texas — WNBA star Brittney Griner is finally released from Russian prison after she was sentenced for possession of cannabis oil.

The athletic community in Tyler feels personally touched by her return.

"Brittney Griner is one of those public figures that we know personally through sports and through being an African American female and African American athlete, through playing pro basketball and playing overseas, too. So her story kind of touched me in a different way", said Tyler Junior College women's basketball head coach Trenia Tellis Hoard.

This return home was able to happen through a prison swap deal for Viktor Bout. Texas politicians are raising concerns for not including former Marine Paul Whelan in this swap.

"I am concerned that the individual who was traded for Brittney Griner is someone who was actually an arms dealer who was selling arms to people who want to kill Americans. That's very dangerous," said State Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler.

For Tellis Hoard, this serves as a lesson for her team to learn from. And as for Whelan’s future, all we can do is hope he finds freedom like Britney Griner has.

"President Biden said that they will continue to try to bring Paul home in my prayers that that will happen." Schaefer said.

Before You Leave, Check This Out

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Content: HOMEPAGE

Brittney Griner's agent calls on Biden and Harris to 'do whatever it takes' to free the WNBA star from Russian captivity

  • Brittney Griner's agent called on Biden and Harris to "do whatever it takes" to get the WNBA player out of Russian jail.
  • Griner's imprisonment was just extended to July 2, Russian state media reported.
  • "Today's extension is just further reinforcement that Brittney Griner — an Olympian and an American citizen — is being used as a political pawn," her agent said.

Brittney Griner's agent called on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to "do whatever it takes" to free the WNBA star from Russian captivity.

"Today's extension is just further reinforcement that Brittney Griner — an Olympian and an American citizen — is being used as a political pawn. Her detention is inhumane and unacceptable," Lindsay Kagawa Colas tweeted Tuesday, referring to Russian state media TASS's reporting that Griner's imprisonment has been extended until July 2.

She continued: "We call on @POTUS and @VP to act with urgency and do whatever it takes to bring Brittney home immediately."

Colas added that Griner has not had a phone call in "117 days of wrongful detention."

Tuesday's extension is the second time Russian officials extended Griner's detention.

She was first arrested at a Moscow airport on February 17 when officials found vape cartridges in her luggage, and she has been held in a Russian prison since.

"We must fight for BG like family because as an American, she is all of ours," Colas said.

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Griner’s story has become emblematic of the disparities in how athletes are treated based on race and gender, with many commentators noting that a white male athlete might have received a more urgent response from the government and media .

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Court Upholds Conviction of Brittney Griner as WNBA Star Faces Years of Prison Time in Russia

Brittney Griner

A court in Russia rejected on Tuesday incarcerated WBA star Brittney Griner’s appeal of her 9-year prison sentence for carrying a small amount of hashish oil.

The court did rule to recalculate Griner’s prison sentence based on her pre-trial detention, according to The Associated Press. For every one day in custody before trial, she will get credited for 1.5 days in prison. That reportedly means she will spend about eight years in prison.

Griner, 32, is currently at a penal colony outside of Moscow, according to the AP.

She was arrested at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow on Feb. 17. She reportedly had less than a gram of cannabis oil inside vape canisters in her luggage. Griner, a center for the WBA’s Phoenix Mercury, had been returning to Russia, where she played in the offseason.

She reportedly testified that she did have the canisters in her luggage, but she said she did not mean to bring them. She packed them by accident, in a rush, Griner said.

The defense, which said Griner was prescribed the hashish oil to treat pain, had called the 9-year sentence excessive, adding that people in similar cases received an average of five years behind bars. A third of the defendants got parole, the defense argued.

Critics of the Russian regime say Moscow is only using Griner as a bargaining chip in international relations. She was arrested just days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“We are aware of the news out of Russia that Brittney Griner will continue to be wrongfully detained under intolerable circumstances after having to undergo another sham judicial proceeding today,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement released through the White House. “President Biden has been very clear that Brittney should be released immediately. In recent weeks, the Biden-Harris Administration has continued to engage with Russia through every available channel and make every effort to bring home Brittney as well as to support and advocate for other Americans detained in Russia, including fellow wrongful detainee Paul Whelan. The President has demonstrated that he is willing to go to extraordinary lengths and make tough decisions to bring Americans home, as his Administration has done successfully from countries around the world. The Administration remains in regular touch with representatives of the families, and we continue to admire their courage in the face of these unimaginable circumstances.”

The Biden administration has offered to release convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in exchange for the releases of both Griner and Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine convicted in an espionage case. The U.S. State Department spokesman said Whelan was “wrongfully detained,” according to CNN.

“There is such a human side to BG that a lot of people on the outside don’t know,” former USA Basketball head coach Dawn Staley told ESPN in a recent profile for Griner’s Oct. 18 birthday. “I wish that a lot of people were able to see that and could express themselves with the honesty that Brittney does.”

Staley coached Griner as part of the gold medal-winning US teams in the 2018 FIBA World Cup and the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Brianna Turner, a teammate on the Mercury, recalled joining teammates in a visit to Griner and Griner’s wife Cherelle Griner’s home.

“We played with their dogs, watched TV and reminisced more about our season,” she told ESPN. “BG nonchalantly had her most recent Olympic gold medal laying out on her coffee table, and I made sure to take a selfie with it as if I had just won gold and was standing on a podium. But that’s just the type of person BG is: humble and welcoming to those around her. I hold on so hard to those memories of that evening. It’s wild to think that I last saw her in person a year ago; her birthday is obviously so different this time around. I was able to send her a letter, though, and hopefully she will receive it on birthday. So many people that don’t personally know BG have so many various opinions about her. But I can honestly say BG is probably the warmest person I know. Her energy is infectious, and she is the first person willing to help someone in need.”

[Image via EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA/POOL/AFP]

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The broader implications of Griner’s detention and release extend to the experiences of other Americans detained abroad.

The broader implications of Griner’s detention and release extend to the experiences of other Americans detained abroad.

Her case is part of a pattern in which American citizens, including athletes and educators, are detained under dubious circumstances and used as leverage in international disputes .

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Content: Houston’s mayor on Brittney Griner’s return

With help from Jesse Naranjo, Ella Creamer, Jesús Rodríguez and Teresa Wiltz

What up, Recast family! WNBA star Brittney Griner is home on U.S. soil, Congress passes the Respect For Marriage Act and surprise! Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announces she’s leaving the Democratic Party and registering as an independent. First, though, a chat with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.

WNBA star Brittney Griner is now safely back in the United States, relieving the collective anxiety of millions of Americans, including the longtime Democratic mayor of Houston.

Sylvester Turner marked the end of Griner’s 10-month detainment in Russia by ordering City Hall illuminated in red, white and blue to mark what he called “United States proud” of what the president and the nation were able to accomplish.

Griner, a Houston native who stands 6 feet, 9 inches tall and is a standout with the Phoenix Mercury and the women’s professional basketball club UMMC Ekaterinburg, was released in a controversial prisoner swap on Thursday.

The Biden administration says it had no choice and that it was a one-or-none deal.

In exchange for her release, President Joe Biden granted clemency for Viktor Bout, whose nickname is the “Merchant of Death.”

Some, including many Republicans, felt the Biden administration gave up too much, arguing the exchange of a pro ball player for a convicted Russian arms dealer was not an even trade, especially if the trade didn’t include Paul Whelan, a former Marine who has been held captive in Russia on allegations of espionage since 2018.

Turner, however, would rather focus on the positives, arguing that the Griner ordeal brought many Americans together for a common goal: bringing her home safely.

We talk about this, plus how history will be made next week when Mayor-elect Karen Bass is sworn into office in Los Angeles. Her ascension marks the first time the nation’s four largest cities, New York, L.A., Chicago and Houston, will all have Black mayors serving simultaneously.

◆◆◆

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

THE RECAST: As mayor you’ve helped lead city officials in keeping Brittney Griner’s plight front of mind for your city. Why was this important for you?

TURNER: She is from the Houston region and played at Baylor [in Waco, Texas, about a three hour commute northwest of Houston]. And I mean, she is a super star in this area.

I do want to give a lot of credit to Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) because, I tell you, she was front and center helping to keep Brittney Griner’s name alive and didn’t want anybody to forget. I want to give a lot of credit to President Biden and his whole team.

THE RECAST: I feel like a lot of folks who maybe don't pay too close attention to geopolitics were certainly engaged with this story because of who she is. Not just her celebrity as a basketball star, but because she’s a Black woman, a Black LGBTQ woman. Do you think Griner’s ordeal helped more people of color get familiar, or those who don’t follow global events as closely, to gain a better understanding of international affairs?

Every week, we sit down with diverse and influential characters who are shaking up politics.

Who should we profile next? Let us know. Email us at [email protected].

TURNER: No. 1, she is one of our own from the Houston area. No. 2, she is a Black woman. In this case she’s a member of the LGBTQ community; she has a wife here in the United States.

When you consider all of those dynamics, she represents the diversity of America, and certainly represents the diversity of this city on multiple levels.

Whether it was women, African Americans, people from the LGBT community, people from the sports arena, who are all lifting her up — in this time of global conflict between Russia and Ukraine — that heightened the importance of this moment and wanting to see her released. So when you have all of these dynamics coming together and on one accord, the voices are even louder.

What we did see is that as people were asking for the release of Brittney Griner, people were also asking for the release of Paul Whelan. It’s my hope and prayer that the attention that has been given to her will continue on Paul Whelan.

THE RECAST: Switching gears here. We’re on the precipice of history, having Black mayors lead the nation’s four largest cities. Put this moment in perspective.

TURNER: It is historic on one hand, it’s inspirational on the other. It does reflect just how far this country has come.

[These are] four cities that are really leading the growth of the GDP of this country in terms of being economic drivers — major cities where major things are happening on multiple fronts, and cities that are global in nature. These are cities that attract people from all over the world, businesses from all over the world, development from all over the world, and investments.

And I don't want to minimize all the other African American mayors, because when you look from D.C. to Seattle, from Atlanta, Charlotte, North Carolina, ... all over the map, African Americans are leading major cities and I think when you view us collectively, it is more than a third of the GDP of the United States.

THE RECAST: That’s an interesting point. The history-making element here is not the fact that you are all Black, because none of the big four is the first Black mayor to serve their respective city. It's the fact that you are all serving simultaneously.

I've noticed, too, that all four are leading cities where Latinos are or are close to being the largest minority populations.

TURNER: At first glance, people may say, “OK, these cities must be majority Black, or close to being majority Black.” That is not the case. New York, Chicago, L.A., Houston are highly diverse. We say Houston is the most diverse city in the United States.

About 25 percent of the people in the city come from outside of the United States, 40 percent of the city is Hispanic. We have a growing Asian population. … So you can’t just say, “OK, I'm going to ride the African American vote, and that's gonna get me to victory.” No, we live in pluralistic societies, and in order to be successful you are going to have to build coalitions.

THE RECAST: How do you walk that fine line, though, making sure your policies cater to everyone, but also that you are showing deliverables for Black constituents that supported your candidacy? As you know, sometimes elected officials who are Black find themselves being questioned by Black constituents, sort of like, “What have you done for us?”

TURNER: You are exactly correct.

As the former chair of the African American Mayors Association, I will tell you, we had these conversations all the time. African Americans who have been in their communities that have been overlooked, whether it's been a lack of investment for decades, they want to see things happen very quickly.

They don't give African Americans, you know, a long runway.

Because they place their trust in us. And they believe, “Mayor, you ought to be sensitive, you ought to recognize the fact that we've been overlooked, underserved … so fix it now.”

Now, having said that, there are certain things that run across ethnic and socioeconomic lines.

So the Complete Communities initiative was intended to focus on highly diverse neighborhoods, where resources hadn't flown. So you're meeting the needs of African Americans in a direct way, but you're also meeting the needs of Hispanics and Asians and immigrants and refugees in similar situations, for example, in the southwest part of the city of Houston, what we call the Gulfton area. That’s where there are more than 70 languages being spoken. So you can, in a very intentional way, meet the needs of African Americans without overlooking the needs of others in your city.

THE RECAST: So you're talking about being deliberate in your actions.

TURNER: Well, you have to, because, rightfully or wrongfully, some people — not all — are going to come in thinking: “OK, you just got to be the mayor of Black folk.”

And I tell people, “Life is not fair. OK?” But you have to learn, as my mom would say, to navigate through it. We do have to be intentional. At the same time, it doesn't mean that you run away from Black folk.

As African American mayors, we have to navigate many waters. What I would say to all of the mayors [who are less tenured than me] Karen Bass, Eric Adams, Lori Lightfoot … we’re under more scrutiny, from all different arenas. We have to perform every day. We have to be at our best every day. We have to be very intentional in our representation every day. And that's not fair, OK. But those are the realities.

THE RECAST: You revealed last month your cancer diagnosis but that you are cancer free. Talk to me about why you announced the way you did.

TURNER: My State of the City address was on Nov. 3 and I didn't intend to discuss it, to be honest with you.

But we were talking about resilience. And the city has faced several federally declared disasters over the years. And I was making the point that we bounce back each and every time. And then something hit me and I said to myself, “Sylvester, part of resilience is what you’ve gone through.”

So that's when I decided to talk about it.

[When I got the diagnosis of osteosarcoma], I had to say to myself, “Alright joker, why not you? You may be the mayor, but you’re not immune. You’ve walked other people through storms, now you gotta walk yourself through.”

◆◆◆

OK, fam! Enjoy your Friday. A quick reminder that we are taking your submissions for the 2023 Recast Power List. Let us know who YOU think is shaking up, influencing and disrupting politics as usual. Send us your thoughts here

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Title:

Content: Brittney Griner is coming home. The United States and Russia agreed to a one-for-one prisoner swap which will see Russia release Griner into U.S. custody while the “Merchant of Death” will be granted his return to Russia. Paul Whelan, the former U.S. Marine who is also being held in Russia, was not included in the prisoner swap deal. Via CNN’s Jennifer Hansler, who spoke to Whelan from the Russian penal colony where he’s currently located, revealed the 52-year-old had expressed disappointment and confusion as to why he wasn’t brought home.

“I am greatly disappointed more has not been done to secure my release, especially as the 4-year anniversary of my arrest is coming up. I was arrested for a crime that never occurred. I don’t understand why I’m still here,” Whelan told Hansler.

There had been much speculation that the U.S. could include Whelan in a potential 2-for-1 or even 2-for-2 prisoner swap exchange that would see him return home alongside Griner. According to reports, Russia was not interested in that exchange, willing only to release Griner in a swap for the Merchant of Death, Viktor Bout.

Paul Whelan is a former United States Marine who was arrested in Russia back in 2018 and handed a 16-year prison sentence after being accused of espionage. This isn’t the first time he was left out of a prisoner exchange between the two nations. In 2019, Trevor Reed, a fellow former marine, was returned to the United States in a prisoner swap with Russia. That incident again had Whelan wondering why he wasn’t included.

Now, the U.S. has secured the release of the WNBA player after her arrest at an airport near Moscow, where Griner was found to have marijuana vape cartridges in her baggage. Whelan, still in a Russian penal colony, expressed his disappointment that he won’t be heading home.

Title:

Content: Brittney Griner pleaded guilty in Russia to marijuana charges, so what happens next?

WNBA star Brittany Griner pleaded guilty Thursday to bringing cannabis-derived oil cartridges to Russia, saying she had done so by accident. The move was significant as it shed the first light on her defense team's strategy, and it could potentially pave the way for a prisoner swap with the U.S. or a pardon that could see Griner freed.

"We of course hope for the leniency of the court," the basketball player's Russian lawyer, Maria Blagovolina, was quoted as saying by local media on Thursday outside a Moscow courthouse. "Considering all the circumstances of the case and taking into account the personality of our client, we believe that the admission of guilt should certainly be taken into account."

From a procedural standpoint, under Russia's legal system a pardon or prisoner swap can only happen if the individual has already been convicted. Moscow is unlikely to respond to any of Washington's requests for Griner's release until she has formally been convicted.

Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said Thursday that "there are no formal or procedural reasons to discuss further steps" until Griner's trial is concluded.

On Friday, Ryabkov indicated that Russia was interested in putting the ball in Washington's court — leaving the Biden administration to make an offer for a potential swap if the two sides can reach the stage of closed-door negotiations on an exchange.

"As for any exchange schemes, our position is the same: this needs to be done behind closed doors through the available channels," Ryabkov said.

Ryabkov signaled clearly that Moscow could be interested in negotiating a swap for notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, the so-called "Merchant of Death," who has been in U.S. custody since 2008.

"I'm not sure that any additional activity, especially in the public sphere, will help a correct, balanced compromise and find a basis to alleviate the fate of a lot of our compatriots such as Viktor Bout, who has health problems, [or] such as Seleznev, and many others," he said, referring to Roman Seleznev, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence in the U.S. on cyber-fraud charges.

U.S. officials have repeatedly referred to Griner as "wrongfully detained," a label the Kremlin said is not "helpful" in negotiations.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Friday during an official visit to Indonesia that securing the release of Griner and another U.S. citizen, Paul Whelan, who was sentenced to 16 years in prison on espionage charges in Russia, was a "number one priority" for the Biden administration.

Asked about Ryabkov's remarks suggesting Griner's trial would have to play out before there was any further movement on a potential prisoner swap, Blinken told reporters he was "not going to engage in hypotheticals."

"We'll look for ways to engage and do everything we can to bring people home as quickly as we possibly can," he said.

Even though Griner has entered a guilty plea it could still take weeks or even months for the judge to issue a verdict in the case. Griner is expected to give testimony during the next hearing, which is scheduled for July 14.

The admission of guilt could play in Griner's favor in the long term, as it may lead to a shorter trial than would be expected if her legal team were to mount a fierce resistance to the charges. That was the case with another American, Trevor Reed, who was recently released in a swap for Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko. After fighting the charges against him for nearly three years while he languished in a Russian prison, Reed was reportedly still made to sign a paper admitting his wrongdoing before he was released.

Possession and use of marijuana are illegal in Russia. Statistically, very few criminal cases end in acquittal in the Russian justice system.

If any negotiations on a potential prisoner swap fail — or fail to even materialize, given relations between Washington and Moscow are currently at or near an all-time low — pleading guilty and asking the court for mercy could at least see any sentence imposed on Griner shortened.

"We're still in a wait-and-see posture as to how the trial proceeds,"William Pomeranz, the acting director of the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute in Washington and an expert on Russian law, told CBS News on Thursday.

"I think she pled guilty mainly to throw herself on the mercy of the court and to plead for leniency," Pomeranz said. He's previously told news outlets that that is often the best strategy to adopt with Russia's courts.

"We'll have to see if she gets the maximum sentence. Clearly this case has now become a political case, and there are already discussions, allegedly, about having a plea agreement and a prisoner swap with a Russian prisoner for Brittney Griner," he said. "We need to basically see whether this prisoner swap is in the cards, because if she indeed wants to get home as fast as possible, it will be only if there is a swap between Russia and the United States."

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government’s efforts to secure the release of Americans like Trevor Reed and Marc Fogel have faced similar challenges, highlighting the complexities of international diplomacy and the role of public profile and identity in influencing advocacy and government action .

Title:

Content: Brittney Griner's Russian detention hits 200-day mark

1 minute read

U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, sits inside a defendants' cage before the court's verdict in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia August 4, 2022. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool

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September 5 - Monday marked 200 days since WNBA star Brittney Griner was first detained in a Russian airport.

The Phoenix Mercury center was arrested Feb. 17 with vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage.

Griner, 31, was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony on Aug. 4 on drug smuggling and possession charges.

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On Monday -- Labor Day in the United States -- the Women's National Basketball Players Association issued a plea on social media for all U.S. union members to sign a Change.org petition in support of Griner.

United States President Joe Biden has said Griner is being "wrongfully detained."

Diplomats for Russia and the U.S. have reportedly discussed a prisoner swap to bring Griner and fellow American Paul Whelan home in exchange for the release of convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft, Griner is a seven-time All-Star and two-time Defensive Player of the Year with career averages of 17.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in 254 games.

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Title:

Content: Global RiskNews Briefs

Russia frees US basketball star in swap with arms dealer Bout

The US and Russia have exchanged US basketball star Brittney Griner for arms dealer Viktor Bout in a prison swap. The arms dealer had been held in an American prison for 12 years. Brittney Griner is on a plane back to the United States.

Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport in February for possessing cannabis oil and was sent to a penal colony last month. A prisoner exchange was proposed by the US in July. As part of the prisoner exchange, US President Joe Biden signed the order to release Bout, commuting his 25 year jail term.

Read More: Russia frees US basketball star in swap with arms dealer Bout

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Griner has used her platform to advocate for other wrongfully detained Americans, encouraging collective action and support for those still imprisoned .

Title:

Content: Joey Reed and Paula Reed, the parents of Trevor Reed demonstrate in Lafayette Park near the White House on March 30, 2022 in Washington, DC.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
April 27, 2022 10:55 PM EDT

President Joe Biden waited until former Marine Trevor Reed was out of Moscow, had been successfully exchanged for a Russian prisoner in Turkey, and was safely on a plane bound for the U.S. before calling Reed’s family.

Reed had spent nearly 3 years in a Russian jail after being arrested in 2019 on charges of assaulting police in Moscow. But Biden had been concerned about contacting his family too soon and risking upsetting the sensitive deal before Reed was securely out of Russia’s reach.

When Reed was finally airborne, Biden told his family the good news and released a statement saying Reed’s return was “a testament to the priority my Administration places on bringing home Americans held hostage and wrongfully detained abroad.” He promised to continue pressing for the release of other Americans being held in Russia, including Paul Whelan, who was arrested on suspicion of espionage in a Moscow hotel in 2018. Reed was freed in exchange for the release of Russian citizen Konstantin Yaroshenko, who had been sentenced in the U.S. in 2011 to 20 years on drug smuggling charges.

While other U.S. citizens captured abroad have been released during the Biden Administration, Reed’s was the first case in which Biden was willing to hand over a prisoner being held in the U.S. as part of the terms of the release, a step previous administrations had taken. Biden’s deliberate approach to freeing Americans held overseas has been marked by a cautious and bureaucratic decision-making process, according to two people involved in the negotiations, and a slow pace that has been frustrating to some families whose loved ones are held in foreign prisons.

“We continue to press for the release of Paul and we’re not done. We’ve not given up. It’s not over until every American who is wrongly detained is back home,” says a White House official. “It’s never fast enough for the people waiting for their loved ones and we get that. We understand their pain.”

While Biden decided to keep President Donald Trump’s lead hostage negotiator Roger Carstons in place, Biden’s careful tactics have stood in stark contrast to the free-wheeling and sometimes capricious way Trump went about bringing U.S. citizens home. Trump prided himself on pressing to get Americans released from prisons overseas, and relished the photo-ops that followed. But Biden and his advisors worry that prisoner swaps could exacerbate other points of friction and create more incentive for adversaries to capture Americans.

“It is night and day—with Trump, it was clearly something he saw as a gain for him, especially the way he did it very publicly,” says Vice President and Executive Director of the Richardson Center for Global Engagement Mickey Bergman, who worked with the Biden Administration on Reed’s release. In the previous Administration, getting a message directly to Trump was the key. “Trump had little to no policy process: if you can get in front of the President and if he likes it, he’ll do it,” Bergman says.

The Biden Administration though, “They’ve taken their time. They are a process-oriented administration,” Bergman says. “There’s a lot of these things that take an excruciating amount of time for people like me and for the families who are arguing for their release.”

Bergman traveled to Moscow at the end of February with former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson to meet Russian officials about Reed’s and Whelan’s cases, just before the Russian military launched its most recent invasion in Ukraine. It was on that trip that Russian officials made clear they would release Reed if the Americans handed over Yaroshenko. There was added urgency to Reed’s case because he was showing possible symptoms of tuberculosis. Richardson and Bergman brought the terms back to the Biden Administration and offered to manage the swap themselves, without official U.S. involvement, Bergman says. Biden decided to go ahead and have the U.S. government manage the exchange. “The credit is to Biden for actually making the decision and getting it done,” Bergman says.

But Reed’s detention was part of a broader global problem the U.S. faces. The arbitrary detention of Americans “for completely bogus crimes designed to gain leverage” has become a more common practice among a number of foreign governments, says a former senior State Department official who was recently involved in high-level negotiations for the release of Americans. “It reflects the changing global dynamics, the changing power relationships, as countries are circling each other trying to figure out how to get an advantage,” the former official says.

Reed’s release comes at a time when experts involved in helping negotiate the release of Americans detained overseas are seeing an uptick in Americans being arrested and held as bargaining chips, including in Venezuela, Iran, China. Venezuela recently released some Americans, after a visit from a high-level U.S. delegation, and holds several others. Iran is holding four American citizens. In Russia, addition to Whelan—who American officials say was not involved in spying—Russian authorities arrested WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner in February on suspicion of traveling with cannabis oil in vape cartridges. A person familiar with the talks around Griner’s case said that, at this point, U.S. officials are concerned that raising too much attention to her detention could play into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hands by turning her into an even more high profile hostage, making it harder to get her released.

“Using wrongful detention as a bargaining chip represents a threat to the safety of everyone working, traveling and living abroad,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said April 27, the day Reed was released. “Our objective continues to be to bring Paul Whelan home and any American who is not with their family and is being detained overseas.”

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EDIT POST

In summary, Brittney Griner’s story illustrates the complex intersection of sports, gender issues, and international politics.

In summary, Brittney Griner’s story illustrates the complex intersection of sports, gender issues, and international politics.

Her arrest and harsh treatment in the Russian prison system highlighted the vulnerabilities of American citizens abroad and the ways in which governments can use high-profile individuals as leverage in political negotiations .

Title:

Content: Categories
Finance

Inside Joe Biden’s Faustian pact with Russia to secure Brittney

Three weeks ago, the American basketball star Brittney Griner arrived at a Russian penal colony known for torture, beatings and slave labour to begin a nine-year sentence following her arrest at a Moscow airport in February for possession of vaping cartridges containing hashish oil.

But in a stunning twist on Thursday, Griner’s plight as an unwitting pawn in a high-stakes geopolitical struggle came to an abrupt end, as she arrived in Abu Dhabi from Moscow and boarded a plane home to reunite with her family. She landed in San Antonio, Texas, early Friday morning.

In exchange for Griner’s release, the US released Viktor Bout, a notorious arms trafficker who was serving a 25-year sentence for conspiring to kill US citizens and aiding a terrorist organisation.

The deal was met with jubilation from Griner’s family and supporters. But the controversial swap for Bout — as well as the exclusion of Paul Whelan, another US citizen imprisoned in Russia — also drew criticism and raised questions about how America’s adversaries might leverage arrests of its citizens in the future.

US officials began working toward Griner’s release as soon as she was apprehended in Russia in February, but the effort became more concentrated on prisoner swap negotiations once the State Department declared in May that she had been wrongfully detained.

In July, US secretary of state Antony Blinken and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov spoke on the phone for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February. During the call, Blinken pressed Lavrov to accept a “substantial proposal” from Washington to release Griner and the former marine Whelan, who has been detained in Russia since 2018 on what the US and his family say are trumped-up espionage charges.

Americans had offered to free Bout, people familiar with the discussions said, but the Russians said they also wanted the release of Vadim Krasikov, a former colonel from Russia’s domestic spy agency who was convicted of murder in Germany last year.

In the ensuing months, officials said, Washington made a number of offers to Russia in an attempt to secure the release of Griner and Whelan.

However, Biden administration officials said that in recent weeks it became clear that Moscow would only accept a one-for-one swap. According to one senior administration official, “the choice was bringing Brittney Griner home right now or bringing no Americans home from Russia right now”.

Despite the Biden administration’s insistence that they had no choice but to exclude Whelan from the deal, Republican lawmakers and others denounced the decision, as well as facilitating the release of Bout, who is also known as “the merchant of death”.

“The Biden administration has allowed Viktor Bout, a dangerous arms dealer who was convicted of conspiring to kill American law enforcement, to walk free,” said Mike Rogers, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee.

“This move to appease Vladimir Putin will only encourage further hostage taking by Russian security forces,” he added.

US officials described Biden’s choice as a painful one, adding that they would continue to work for Whelan’s release. Washington previously secured the release of Trevor Reed, another former marine, via a prisoner swap in April.

People familiar with Thursday’s prisoner exchange likened the episode to “a scene from the Cold War”, with Russian and American planes meeting on the tarmac at an airport in Abu Dhabi.

The Russian plane carrying Griner arrived first, one of the people said. American officials and people familiar with the events said the basketball star was upbeat on the tarmac, saying she was looking forward to returning home.

The Griner-Bout swap marks a rare instance in which the US and Russia have been able to find common ground since Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, sending the west’s relationship with Moscow to its lowest ebb since the Cuban missile crisis.

According to people familiar with the matter, the Americans and Russians directly negotiated the details of the swaps, with UAE officials including president Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan helping to facilitate the mechanics of the transfer.

It is not unusual for third countries to aid in brokering international diplomatic agreements such as prisoner swaps between hostile countries.

Sheikh Mohammed and Putin discussed the matter when they met in Russia in October, and they spoke on the phone on Wednesday, people familiar with the meetings said. Yousef al-Otaiba, UAE ambassador to the US, was present for the exchange on Thursday and had helped to co-ordinate details on the American side.

On Thursday, some pro-Kremlin commentators hailed the swap as a return to diplomacy. “Everyone sees through this exchange that Moscow and Washington are holding secret negotiations and can make a deal,” Sergei Markov, a political scientist and former member of Russia’s parliament, wrote on Telegram. “And everyone hopes that means Moscow and Washington can make a deal to end the war in Ukraine.”

However, analysts and US officials said that while the breakthrough was a sign that the two sides could get things done when their interests align, it was not evidence of any larger thaw in relations. Biden administration officials added that the recent conversations with Russia about Griner and other prisoners were limited to the release of wrongfully detained Americans.

“The exchange doesn’t do anything to change the situation for bilateral relations. There are lots of issues where they are in open confrontation,” said Alexander Gabuev, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

He said the otherwise dire state of relations between Russia and the west was thrown into sharp relief last week, when Moscow abruptly pulled out of talks on renewing the New Start treaty, the only remaining agreement governing the countries’ nuclear arsenals.

“This is a global stability issue: the last remainders of arms control are falling apart, which could lead to an arms race and a higher risk of dangerous incidents,” he said. “The trajectory we’re on is making that all the more likely.”

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Content: If you want to make a league that’s dominated by queer Black women better, then treat every player as you would a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, straight white woman — and watch how quickly, and drastically, things change. Privilege provides instantaneous results.

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Beyond the fact that Griner’s skin color and sexuality played a huge role in her being jailed in Russia, and the discussion about whether or not she was “worthy” of what it took to bring her home, the underbelly of the WNBA resembles society in its preference for longing for more white stars.

This league would love it if Sabrina Ionescu became the player they wanted her to be. And that’s not a shot at Ionescu, who’s really good. But, let’s not act like what she looks like doesn’t play a factor in her popularity. If the WNBA was full of Sabina Ionescus then it would be an easier sell.

“We’ve moved the chains, but we’re not nearly as successful as we could be if we were invested in more,” Dawn Staley told ESPN last year when discussing the “30 for 30” documentary Dream On, about how the 1996 U.S. Women’s Olympic team she was on helped launch the WNBA. “Women’s basketball has been successful despite what’s often bare-minimum investment. We’re looking for more and more opportunities.”

A real-life example of that is the fanfare and popularity of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team compared to the women’s basketball team. In July of 2021, of the 18 women that made up Team USA’s soccer roster, only two of them were Black. It was the opposite for basketball, as nine of the 12 members of their roster were Black. The team was also coached by Staley, making her the first Black woman to ever coach Team USA’s women’s senior team. The women’s basketball team hasn’t lost in the Olympics since 1992, but yet, Carli Lloyd, and Megan Rapinoe’s squad was the women’s team that was getting a bigger push.

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“Playing for Team USA means a lot because as Black people, we don’t get that love from our country,” Lisa Leslie said of her blackness in the documentary, as reported by Jezebel. “In those moments, people are just people, human beings. They cheer and they celebrate together without judging. If you could see the beauty in me, then maybe you could see it in another Black woman.”

For all of the positives thing that the WNBA has done over the years, overwhelmingly all of them are connected to work that’s been done by Black women. Let’s not forget that Kelly Loeffler was once an NBA owner and that Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon — a white woman — had to serve a two-game suspension without pay due to comments she made to All-Star forward Dearica Hamby — a Black woman — about her pregnancy.

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And you wonder why Dr. Jill Biden initially wanted to welcome Caitlin Clark and Iowa to the White House to share in Angel Reese and LSU’s moment.

The WNBA’s player union is one of the most powerful in sports, and they proved that by helping get Raphael Warnock elected when he defeated Loeffler in the 2021 Georgia Senate runoff race. But yet, Cathy Engelbert is still the league’s commissioner. And she’s a woman that doesn’t do well with social issues.

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“I think we would evaluate it across what our global games platform looks like,” Engelbert said about WNBA considering playing a game in Saudi Arabia just days after the PGA chose money over morals and partnered with LIV Golf. “It wouldn’t be the first place I went, for sure, but we had this opportunity in Canada, Europe, Asia, and Africa.”

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And just last summer at the WNBA All-Star Game in Chicago, Engelbert said that a Chance the Rapper concert for WNBA Live was not open to the public because of fears due to gun violence. However, a spokesperson from the Chicago Police Department told WTTW that they didn’t advise Engelbert, or the league, to limit outdoor events, including the concert.

So, yes, this is about Brittney Griner, and the need for WNBA owners to stop being cheap when it comes to chartering flights for their teams. But, it’s mainly about how the WNBA always has been and always will be, dominated by a group of people that the league, and society don’t want to properly cater to — Black women. Maybe that’s why so many people were so shocked when Kelsey Plum received such a puny trophy from Cathy Engelbert after winning MVP of the 2022 All-Star Game. Because if this league would give a white woman something like that, just imagine how they really feel about Black women behind closed doors.

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Griner testifies in Russia as U.S. offers deal

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STORY: U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner testified in a Russian court Wednesday that her rights weren't read when she was detained at a Moscow airport in February

"No, my rights were never read to me. No one explained any of it to me."

Griner is on trial for drug charges that could cost her up to 10 years in prison.

The 31-year-old WNBA star plays in Russia during the league's offseason. She was detained when agents found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.

Griner said in court Wednesday that she was not provided with an interpreter and did not understand what papers she was made to sign.

"I can only assume they were about the search and the cartridges. We had to use my phone and Google Translate for him to be able to tell me a little bit."

Griner pleaded guilty earlier in the trial but denied she intended to break Russian law.

She said on Wednesday that she still did not understand how the vape cartridges could have ended up in her luggage, saying she had packed hurriedly and could accidentally have included them.

Griner said she had been prescribed medical cannabis in the US to treat chronic injuries - but it is illegal in Russia.

The case against her has highlighted strained relations between Russia and the United States that have plunged to their lowest since the Cold War over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. officials say Griner has been wrongly detained and called for her immediate release.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the US had made a "substantial offer" to bring home Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia of spying.

"We want to see those who are wrongfully detained be released and be able to return home. At the same time, it's important that we work to reinforce the global norm against these arbitrary detentions."

The Kremlin has said the case against her has nothing to do with politics and that she should be tried for violating Russian law.

government’s efforts to secure her release, the public advocacy that kept her case in the spotlight, and her adjustment to life after release all underscore the enduring impact of geopolitical conflicts on individual lives and the urgent need for systemic changes in how athletes are treated and protected abroad [b30f761d_1

government’s efforts to secure her release, the public advocacy that kept her case in the spotlight, and her adjustment to life after release all underscore the enduring impact of geopolitical conflicts on individual lives and the urgent need for systemic changes in how athletes are treated and protected abroad [b30f761d_1

government’s efforts to secure her release, the public advocacy that kept her case in the spotlight, and her adjustment to life after release all underscore the enduring impact of geopolitical conflicts on individual lives and the urgent need for systemic changes in how athletes are treated and protected abroad [b30f761d_1