WNBA star Brittney Griner will return home after prolonged detention and imprisonment in the Russian penal system, the White House announced Thursday morning.
The seven-time WNBA All-Star was traded in a trade one for one for the United States Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, according to CBS News, which cited an unnamed US official familiar with the deal. The swap was signed by President Joe Biden and made in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday after weeks of negotiations between U.S. and Russian officials, according to the CBS report.
Griner was initially detained and charged in a Russian court after he was arrested at a Moscow airport going through security with cannabis-extracted oil vape cartridges. After months of awaiting trial, the Houston-born basketball star pleaded guilty to his charges and was transferred in November in a Russian penal colony — an inhospitable environment for LGBTQ people like Griner, whose wife Cherelle was in the Oval Office Thursday to talk to Biden ahead of today’s development, according to NBC’s Peter Alexander.
“Griner’s wife Cherelle is here in the Oval Office, @NBCNews has learned,” Alexander tweeted Thursday morning. “She and @POTUS spoke to Brittney Griner together and then Cherelle had a private chat with his wife from the president’s office.” Biden took to Twitter Thursday morning to confirm this, writing, “A few moments ago I spoke to Brittney Griner. She’s safe. She’s on a plane. She’s on her way home.”
During his public remarks from the White House on Thursday morning, Biden said Griner, whom he called “an incomparable athlete” who “represents the best in America,” is in high spirits and relieved to finally be going home. him. “The fact remains that she lost months of her life and suffered unnecessary trauma,” he said. “She deserves space, privacy and time with her loved ones to recover and heal from her wrongful detention.”
US President Joe Biden announced his release of Olympian and WNBA player Brittney Griner from Russian custody, with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken (left) and Vice President Kamala Harris in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on December 08, 2022.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesBiden also assured his administration had not forgotten Paul Whelan, an American incarcerated in Russia on espionage charges who is currently serving a 16-year sentence in a strict penal colony in Mordovia, and said the United States would continue to work to negotiate his release.
“It was not a choice of the American to take home,” Biden said, noting that they got US Navy Veteran Trevor Reed freedom earlier this year when there was a chance to do so. “Unfortunately, for totally illegitimate reasons, Russia treated Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s,” Biden said. “And although we haven’t been able to secure Paul’s release yet, we are not giving up. We will never give up.”
Biden urged Russia to ensure that Whelan’s health and humane treatment are maintained until he is brought home. He also took the time to draw attention to other Americans being held hostage or wrongfully detained around the world and urged Americans traveling abroad to take precautions and consult travel advisories from the State Department before doing so. “Reuniting these Americans with their loved ones remains a priority,” he said. “We will continue to bring home any American home that continues to suffer such injustice.”
Cherelle Griner (C), wife of Olympian and WNBA player Brittney Griner, speaks after US President Joe Biden announced his release from Russian custody, with Vice President Kamala Harris in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on December 08, 2022.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesAfter Biden, Cherelle thanked everyone who helped bring his wife home. “Over the past nine months, you have all been privy to the darkest times of my life,” Cherelle said. “Today I just stand here overwhelmed with emotion, but the biggest emotion I have right now is just sincere gratitude to President Biden and his entire administration.”
While her “family is whole”, Cherelle pointed out that other families are still missing their loved ones wrongfully detained overseas. “BG is not here to say that, but I will be happy to speak on his behalf and say that BG and I will remain committed to ensuring that every American comes home, including Paul whose family is in our hearts. today as we celebrate BG coming home,” she said. “We understand that there are still people here who are going through what I have endured for the past nine months of missing their loved ones dearly.”
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