Joe Biden – Page 5 – Syndication Server

Mark Medina: Joint statement between …

Joint statement between the NBA and WNBA on Brittany Griner’s sentence pic.twitter.com/2uLld9wQHH

— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) August 4, 2022

Joe Biden: Bill Russell is one of the greatest athletes in our history – an all-time champion of champions, and a good man and great American who did everything he could to deliver the promise of America for all Americans.

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.

Joe Biden: The promise of America is that we are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives. We’ve never fully lived up to that promise, but Bill Russell made sure we never walked away from it.

U.S. officials and Russia experts have described the trial, which was in its second day, as “theater,” with a guilty verdict seen as a foregone conclusion. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned Thursday that “attempts by the American side to make noise in public … don’t help the practical settlement of issues.” The White House said President Joe Biden called Griner’s wife on Wednesday to assure her that he’s doing all he can to obtain the athlete’s release, as soon as possible. They spoke after Biden read a letter from Griner in which she said she feared she’d never return home.

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 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.”

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”