In what has seemed like a brutal few months, with no end seemingly in sight, Brittney Griner is finally coming home.
A Timely Swap
Today news broke that American basketball Brittney Griner, an American basketball star imprisoned in Russia on drug charges for months, would finally be coming home. According to reports, the basketball star was traded for Victor Bout, a notorious arms dealer who smuggled weapons from Eastern Europe to Africa and the Middle East in the 1990s and early 2000s. In a statement from the White House on Thursday, President Joe Biden announced that Griner would be back in the United States within 24 hours.
“She’s safe, she’s on a plane, she’s on her way home,” said Biden during his statement from the White House. He was joined by Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, and other officials.
In a statement, Cherelle said she was overwhelmed with emotions and was full of gratitude to President Biden and his administration.
“Over the last nine months, you all have been so privy to one of the darkest moments of my life,” said Cherelle. “Today, I’m just standing here overwhelmed with emotions, but the most important emotion that I have right now is just sincere gratitude for President Biden and his entire administration. Today my family is whole, but as you all are aware, there’s so many other families who are not whole.”
For months, there have been news breaks and speculations about Griner’s imprisonment and what the U.S. Government would do to push for Griner’s freedom.
Today is just a happy day for me and my family.
Watch Cherelle Griner’s full remarks on the release of her wife Brittney Griner from Russia in a high-level prisoner exchange. https://t.co/H0w8BNpEvR pic.twitter.com/CSW2oIRUoz
— The Associated Press (@AP) December 8, 2022
According to The New York Times, Griner was detained on Feb. 17 after the Russian authorities accused her of carrying hashish oil in her luggage at an airport near Moscow. Griner, who was also a pro basketball in Russia, was traveling to Russia to rejoin her professional team, U.M.M.C. Yekaterinburg, which she played for during the W.N.B.A. off-season.
Griner’s case triggered discussions about race, discrimination, and the treatment that Black women often receive when they are in any “trouble” of some sort. It is refreshing to know that Griner will be coming home to her family and loved ones. For a while, we were almost giving up, but there was always a light at the end of this tunnel.