Cherelle Griner, the wife of detained American basketball star Brittney Griner, released a statement Wednesday following a phone call with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, saying, “I am grateful to the both of them for the time they spent with me and for the commitment they expressed to getting BG home.”
Tag: Brittney Griner
In Cherelle Griner’s statement, which …
In Cherelle Griner’s statement, which she posted on Instagram, she wrote, “While I will remain concerned and outspoken until she is back home, I am hopeful in knowing that the President read my wife’s letter and took the time to respond. I know BG will be able to find comfort in knowing she has not been forgotten.”
To appeal for her freedom, Griner wrote …
To appeal for her freedom, Griner wrote a handwritten letter to President Joe Biden, which was delivered July 4. Griner’s wife, Cherelle, said they’ve not yet heard from Biden. Below, you can read excerpts of the WNBA star’s powerful words (via ESPN): “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.”
Brittney Griner pens letter to President Biden asking not to forget her. And we shouldn’t.
To appeal for her freedom, detained WNBA star Brittney Griner wrote a handwritten letter to Joe Biden.
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It’s been 138 days since Brittney Griner was detained by the Russian Federal Customs Service. It’s time for her to come home.
Griner, who’s spent several WNBA off-seasons playing in the Russian Premier League to earn additional income, is under criminal investigation after customs officials claimed to have found hashish oil in her luggage in February 2022. Her trial began July 1, nearly five months after her arrest, and though the U.S. government’s belief that she’s been “wrongfully detained” by the Russian Federation means negotiations to get her home can proceed regardless of how the case turns out, Griner has no choice but to wait and wonder when she’ll be free.
To appeal for her freedom, Griner wrote a handwritten letter to President Joe Biden, which was delivered July 4. Griner’s wife, Cherelle, said they’ve not yet heard from Biden.
Below, you can read excerpts of the WNBA star’s powerful words (via ESPN):
“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.”
“On the 4th of July, our family normally honors the service of those who fought for our freedom, including my father who is a Vietnam War Veteran. It hurts thinking about how I usually celebrate this day because freedom means something completely different to me this year.”
“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. I voted for the first time in 2020 and I voted for you. I believe in you. I still have so much good to do with my freedom that you can help restore. I miss my wife! I miss my family! I miss my teammates! It kills me to know they are suffering so much right now. I am grateful for whatever you can do at this moment to get me home.”
Her fear that she might be imprisoned forever is chilling. But she still has hope that Biden can help bring her home.
Griner, by all accounts, is one of the most impactful basketball players of this generation. She is a WNBA champion, an Olympic gold medalist, a FIBA World Cup gold medalist, and an NCAA champion. She has led the league in scoring twice and blocks eight times.
It is hard to process the reality that she is facing, but reading her message gives strong context to this terrifying situation.
The Tip-Off
My colleague, Prince Grimes, wrote about a very cryptic tweet from Lakers owner Jeanie Buss:
“After consecutive disappointing seasons, they have a lot of decisions to make on how best to improve a roster with very little cap flexibility. Latest reports have LA tied to James’ former teammate Kyrie Irving.
All of that brings us to a tweet that Buss fired off late Sunday night about missing Kobe Bryant. Her mention of how much Bryant valued team goals over self interests left the internet in a frenzy. Was this truly a homage to Bryant, or was it a passive-aggressive message to someone else?”
My thinking is that Buss just misses Bryant, but who knows. Maybe it’s actually a subtweet?
Shootaround
— Projected starting lineup for Timberwolves with Rudy Gobert
— 10 undrafted college basketball stars who will get a shot at the NBA Summer League
— Grading the Celtics’ trade for Malcolm Brogdon, deal for Danilo Gallinari
— HoopsHype’s Yossi Gozlan ranks Donovan Mitchell’s trade destinations
Brittney Griner pens letter to Joe Biden asking for help freeing her
WNBA star Brittney Griner, detained in Russia since February, sent a letter to the U.S. president asking him to do everything possible to bring her back to America. Griner, jailed on drug-dealing charges, pleaded for her freedom and said she is terrified she will not be able to leave Russia. “…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”
“On the 4th of July, our family …
“On the 4th of July, our family normally honors the service of those who fought for our freedom, including my father who is a Vietnam War Veteran,’ she continued. ‘It hurts thinking about how I usually celebrate this day because freedom means something completely different to me this year” ‘I realize you are dealing with so much, but please don’t forget about me and the other American Detainees,’ Griner wrote. ‘Please do all you can to bring us home. I voted for the first time in 2020 and I voted for you. I believe in you. I still have so much good to do with my freedom that you can help restore. I miss my wife! I miss my family! I miss my teammates! It kills me to know they are suffering so much right now. I am grateful for whatever you can do at this moment to get me home.’
Brittney Griner to be the subject of a ‘show trial’ in Russia, guilty verdict very likely
Brittney Griner’s trial for allegedly taking hashish oil into Russia is scheduled to begin Friday. At that point it will have been 134 days since the WNBA star was taken into custody while trying to enter the country through a Moscow-area airport. She faces 10 years in prison if convicted. But before the trial even begins, U.S. experts and officials say Griner will be the subject of a show trial, and a guilty verdict is almost a certainty. The entire exercise, they say, is a negotiation tactic to push the Biden administration into trading for her freedom. “It’s a foregone conclusion and the trial is to uphold the state and confirm the power of the state,” says William Pomeranz, the acting director of the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute in Washington, D.C., and an expert on Russian law. “Justice is not the immediate issue.”
Sources close to Griner declined to say …
Sources close to Griner declined to say how she intends to plead, but experts say that with no chance of acquittal it would make strategic sense to just plead guilty now. That might cause headaches for the U.S. State Department and the White House, but it could make Griner’s life more bearable, and a deal to go home more likely.
Brittney Griner’s detention in Russia extended for another six months
Brittney Griner was formally ordered to remain in custody for the duration of her criminal trial in Russia. Her detention was extended for another six months. Griner, 31, appeared in court near Moscow Monday. She was in handcuffs and looking straight ahead in photos obtained by The Associated Press.
The start date for WNBA star Brittney …
The start date for WNBA star Brittney Griner’s trial in Moscow has been set for July 1, more than four months after she was arrested at a Moscow airport for cannabis possession. The date was revealed Monday after Griner, 31, appeared in a Moscow court for a preliminary hearing ahead of trial. The Phoenix Mercury center was also ordered to remain in custody for the duration of her criminal trial.