WNBA star Brittney Griner made her first public statements since returning to the United States in a prisoner swap with Russia, going on to thank all of those who were involved in helping her to make it through the almost 10 month long ordeal before going on to say she has faith that President Joe Biden will also bring home former marine Paul Whelan.
“It feels so good to be home!” Griner said on her Instagram page. “I dug deep to keep my faith and it was the love from so many of you that helped keep me going. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone for your help.”
“Griner was arrested in February at a Moscow-area airport for attempting to bring a vape cartridge with a marijuana derivate into Russia. She pleaded guilty in July to the related charges and was later sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison,” Just the News reported.
“The WNBA star and two-time Olympic champion was exchanged for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Whelan is still in Russian prison, but Griner says she believes Biden will bring him home. The WNBA star and two-time Olympic champion was exchanged for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Whelan is still in Russian prison, but Griner says she believes Biden will bring him home,” the report continued.
“President Biden, you brought me home and I know you are committed to bringing Paul Whelan and all Americans home too,” Griner also posted.
Now, I just want to say that I’m happy for Griner and her family for her safe return, but let’s be real for a minute. Trading a super dangerous Russian arms dealer with the nickname “Merchant of Death,” who helped arm the 9/11 attackers, in exchange for a professional athlete who served less than a year seems like a horrible idea. Especially since we know that it is likely that this guy is going to return to his previous activities and Americans might end up dying for it.
“I will use my platform to do whatever I can to help you,” Griner went on to say in the social media post. “I also encourage everyone that played a part in bringing me home to continue their efforts to bring all Americans home. Every family deserves to be whole.”
The basketball star also revealed her plans to return to the WNBA for the upcoming season.
“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,” she said.
Will Biden really apply effort to ensuring that Paul Whelan gets released from a Russian prison? And if he does, can we expect another dangerous person let loose on the world in exchange? There is a right way and a wrong way to go about this, but whether or not Biden takes the correct route is highly doubtful.