Tag: Joe Biden

Brittney Griner said she intends to play the upcoming WNBA season in emotional message to her supporters

Brittney Griner plans to make her return to the W next season.

If Brittney Griner needed a year or two away from basketball before she was ready to return to a court, it would have been understandable.

We would have understood if she never wanted to play again.

It was basketball that brought her to Russia in the first place, where she was arrested in February and sentenced to nine years in prison over less than a gram of hash oil.

But after 10 months locked away on foreign land, and just a week since her release, Griner said in a message thanking her supporters that she intends to play in the upcoming WNBA season.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CmPAWB5O8F1/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

I also want to make one thing very clear: I intend to play basketball for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury this season, and in doing so, I look forward to being able to say ‘thank you’ to those of you who advocated, wrote, and posted for me in person soon.

Griner’s return to the court for the Phoenix Mercury is sure to be an emotional moment. Her last game in the W was on Oct. 17, 2021 in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals against the Chicago Sky. The 2023 season is set to begin on May 19, with the Mercury visiting the Los Angeles Sparks that night. Phoenix’s home opener is May 21 against the Sky.

In her message on Instagram, Griner also stated her intention to use her platform to help President Joe Biden bring home other Americans.

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Watch the precious moment Cherelle Griner learned Brittney Griner was finally on her way home

“This is such a good day. Oh my God.”

It has been a long time coming for the Griner family since Russian authorities wrongfully detained Brittney Griner over vape cartridges.

The sports world was overtaken with joy when news broke that the Mercury center would finally be returning home after finally Russia agreed to a prisoner swap. It certainly came at a heavy cost and is considered controversial by some, but it was worth it. An American who has been wronged is finally returning home.

While everyone was thrilled with the news, no one was more filled with joy than Brittney’s wife, Cherelle, who had to endure so much over the last 10 months.

She had support, sure. But Cherelle Griner’s wife still had not been returned home and there were moments where she had no idea where Brittney was. Now, all of that is over.

We got a glimpse of the moment Cherelle learned Brittney Griner was finally safe and headed home via President Joe Biden’s Twitter account.

This moment is so precious. You can see the joy on Cherelle Griner’s face.

“She’s on the ground,” President Biden says about Brittney Griner, who is in the process of being transferred. “Stop it,” Cherelle Griner replies with a big smile on her face. Then they shared a big hug.

“This is such a good day. Oh my God,” she said as they sat down. You can’t help but be happy for her here. What a good day, indeed. What a special moment.

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‘Let’s go shock them all’ – Biden gives USMNT pep talk on eve of World Cup

The president phoned the USMNT on the eve of its first World Cup game since 2014

On the eve of the World Cup, the U.S. men’s national team got a pep talk from none other than the POTUS himself.

U.S. President Joe Biden, from his desk in the Oval Office, was connected to a phone held by USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter in a room filled with the entire team.

“I know you’re the underdog, but I tell you what man, you got some of the best players in the world on your team,” Biden said in a somewhat contradictory opening message.

“You’re representing this country and I know you’re going to play your hearts out, so let’s go shock them all.

“Keep trusting in one another, play as hard as you can for you and your families, your teammates, and the whole country is rooting for you.”

Berhalter responded: “That’s that’s a very nice message. Mr. President, the whole team is here right now. We really appreciate your support.”

Biden is not traveling to Qatar for the World Cup, but his Secretary of State Antony Blinken will arrive in the Middle East country on Monday to attend the USMNT’s opener against Wales.

“I wish I was there to see you, I really do,” Biden concluded. “Go get them guys, just play your hearts out.”

Watch Biden’s message to the USMNT

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Report: OKC Thunder to visit White House

The Oklahoma City Thunder are in town to play the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will visit the White House on Tuesday, per ESPN reporter Marc J. Spears.

The Thunder will visit the Biden Administration for policy issues related to criminal justice, health and education as well as a tour of the building.

After playing on the road against the Boston Celtics on Monday, the Thunder continue their East Coast trip on Wednesday with a game against the Washington Wizards.

The Thunder will also show “Seeds of Greenwood” during their White House visit. The Thunder Film centers around helping Black Tulsa children by providing them with educational opportunities and discussing the importance of remembering the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. The film previously was released this past summer.

The full film can be watched below:

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Boston Celtics VP of PR Heather Walker meets with President Biden to fight cancer

The two are linked by the cancer that took Biden’s son Beau in 2015.

While Boston Celtics Vice President of Public Relations Heather Walker likely wishes she had less in common with President Joe Biden than she does, their shared link via glioblastoma brought the two together in common cause to defeat it.

Glioblastoma is a rare form of brain cancer she has been fighting since a 2021 diagnosis. It is the same disease Biden’s son Beau died from in 2015.

The U.S. president, in town to promote his “cancer moonshot” program whose goal is to halve deaths from the disease in the United States, met with the Celtics executive and gave her a handkerchief.

“He hugged me and he knows what I am going through,” Walker said via WCVB Boston. “It was a moment we shared that was unbelievable.”

“I’m meant to be here to help and raise awareness for it,” Walker related, referencing the more than $600,000 she has raised with The Jimmy Fund.

“I’m strong inside and I’m going to make it. Mark my words, I’m still going to be here in years and we’re going to be right in front of Biden saying: ‘Remember when we talked about this?'”

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Stephen Curry committed to winning another title while expanding his activist profile

At 34, Stephen Curry is “absolutely” committed to winning the title again this year. But the game isn’t his only focus. Curry has raised his profile as a businessman, a humanitarian, and – slowly but surely – an activist and more vocal political …

At 34, Stephen Curry is “absolutely” committed to winning the title again this year. But the game isn’t his only focus. Curry has raised his profile as a businessman, a humanitarian, and — slowly but surely — an activist and more vocal political leader. Look into his kaleidoscopic stare as he considers his status in the history books, and you begin to believe Curry when he declares that he can eventually “have as much influence” as Michael Jordan. And while the notoriously apolitical Jordan once said that “Republicans buy sneakers, too,” Curry has already put his brand on the line by clashing with Trump, endorsing Joe Biden, and marching for racial justice. Now, Curry is grappling with how he might expand the meaning of influence, and wondering what the fuck he is gonna say next.

Source: Matt Sullivan @ Rolling Stone

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Connor Letourneau @Con_Chron
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Stephen Curry said that the Warriors had internal talks this summer about acquiring Kevin Durant, who ultimately stayed with the Brooklyn Nets. sfchronicle.com/sports/warrior… – 12:51 PM
Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria
Steph Curry signed off on a Golden State Warriors trade for Kevin Durant: ‘Hell, Yeah’ I Would Have Played With Kevin Durant Again
nj.com/nets/2022/09/s… – 11:06 AM
Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Stephen Curry says ‘Hell, yeah’ Warriors considered Durant trade nba.nbcsports.com/2022/09/12/ste… – 10:01 AM
Emiliano Carchia @Sportando
Stephen Curry says Warriors considered idea of a blockbuster trade to bring Kevin Durant back sportando.basketball/en/stephen-cur… – 8:56 AM
BasketNews @BasketNews_com
Forget Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and the others…
🇮🇹 Nicolo Melli is the best player in the world for Gianmarco Pozzecco 😅💪
#EuroBasket pic.twitter.com/08RSl32T6Y – 5:02 AM

Chris Biderman @TheWarriorsWire
Warriors Wire celebrates the brilliance of Stephen Curry with a photo gallery of his 50-point games. warriorswire.usatoday.com/gallery/stephe… – 4:01 AM
Kerith Burke @KerithBurke
Steph Curry told @sullduggery he loves KD. I know anything KD is kindling for the same ol’ discourse but it feels meaningful to see Steph say this. File it away in the “players are people” folder. pic.twitter.com/Kw78XonYsN – 9:19 PM

Christos Tsaltas @Tsaltas46
Bugrahan Curry or Stephen Tuncer?
20 points / 6-6 3P with 10 minutes remaining. The game of his life! #BizBirlikteyiz #EuroBasket #TURFRA – 7:16 AM
Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Stephen Curry agrees with Draymond Green: 2022 title was ‘definitely the most special’ nba.nbcsports.com/2022/09/09/ste… – 3:01 PM

More on this storyline

Stephen Curry rise has interlaced directly with historic racism, bigotry, and political chaos — with American protest and athlete activism not seen since the Sixties. And yet Curry has remained a reluctant culture warrior. He analyzes political issues like an opponent’s defense, studying “where the loopholes are, where the missteps are,” maneuvering to say less and, as Obama taught him, do more. “The current events of the Trump era, I don’t wake up and say, ‘I wanna go at that conversation,’ ” Curry, who has 75 million followers, tells me. Fans and the media, though, have come to expect the liberal NBA’s superstars to respond to CNN headlines. “Some of this stuff falls on your doorstep and people want a perspective or comment, and sometimes you cough that up unsolicited.” Which hasn’t always gone so well for him. “I think I probably need to do the work of looking back at the last 10 or 12 years.” -via Rolling Stone / September 12, 2022
Curry repeatedly agonized over a moment he wishes he could take back. In 2014, the Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling was exposed as a vile racist in recordings published by TMZ, in the middle of the upstart Warriors’ playoff series against them. Curry privately discussed a unified player response with the Clippers star Chris Paul, twice, because Curry and his teammates wanted to walk off the court after the jump ball. But the Warriors ultimately deferred to their opponents’ protest of choice — the Clippers wore warmup shirts with the logo inside out, then discarded them at center court — and to the league commissioner’s lifetime ban of Sterling. “One of my biggest regrets is not boycotting the game,” Curry told me. “That was a moment to leverage beyond anything we probably could have said.” -via Rolling Stone / September 12, 2022
In one of five interviews, Curry revealed that he and the Warriors legitimately discussed whether and how to blow up the roster of the defending NBA champions this summer for a reunion with Durant, who dramatically split from Golden State in 2019 for the Brooklyn Nets following back-to-back titles. -via Rolling Stone / September 11, 2022

Joe Biden: From a childhood in …

Joe Biden: From a childhood in segregated Louisiana to a career playing on the biggest stages in sports at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, Bill faced the hostility and hate of racism embedded in every part of American life. Yet, he never gave up. Throughout his life, he forced us to confront hard truths. And on this day, there are generations of Americans who are reflecting on what he meant to them as someone who played for the essential truth that every person is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect.