You would hope someone would react this way after being locked up abroad. WNBA star Brittney Griner was imprisoned on drug charges in Russia for nearly a year. She was arrested in February 2022. The basketball star was caught in the country with vape cartridges that contained cannabis, which constitutes a felony in Russia. She didn’t commit murder, but one should have had common sense not to bring such items overseas. Griner’s arrest couldn’t have happened at a worse time: she was detained at the outset of the Ukraine War, when relations between the U.S. and Russia deteriorated.
“I’m grateful to be here, that’s for sure,” Brittney Griner said on Friday, at her first game with the Phoenix Mercury since a nearly 10-month detainment in Russia.
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 15, 2023
She finished with 10 points and three rebounds in the WNBA preseason game. https://t.co/kWvbpR9YQU
The Biden administration was criticized heavily by Griner’s wife, Cherelle, for slow-walking her release. Griner was finally freed in a prisoner exchange last December: we got her back while we released a notorious arms dealer, Viktor Bout, who allegedly served as the basis for the 2005 film Lord of War. Not exactly an equal trade, but it staved off another headache for the Biden White House, albeit a minor one. Griner, who was a critic of the Star-Spangled Banner and pushed for it to be removed from sporting events, now says that the national anthem hits differently since she was jailed in a hell-hole where civil rights are virtually non-existent (via Fox News):
Brittney Griner played in her first WNBA game since her detainment in Russia
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) May 13, 2023
“Hearing the national anthem, it definitely hit different. It’s like when you go for the Olympics, you’re sitting there, about to get gold put on your neck, the flags are going up and the anthem is… pic.twitter.com/WeHaQww3ve
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Seven-time WNBA All-Star Britney Griner returned to game action on Friday for the first time since being arrested in February 2022 at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport after authorities discovered vape canisters with cannabis oil in her luggage.
Griner spent nearly 10 months in a Russian prison after she pleaded guilty to drug charges, and she returned to the United States in December after a prisoner exchange.
On Friday night, Griner played in her first competitive game since the 2021 WNBA Finals, scoring 10 points for the Phoenix Mercury in a preseason game against the Los Angeles Sparks.
It was the Mercury's final preseason game before the regular season opener on Friday.
Prior to the tip, Griner and her teammates stood for the national anthem, and the No. 1 pick of the 2013 WNBA Draft received a loud ovation from the home crowd as she was introduced.
"Hearing the national anthem, it definitely hit different," Griner said. "It’s like when you go for the Olympics, you’re sitting there, about to get gold put on your neck, the flags are going up, and the anthem is playing, it just hits different.
Brittney Griner played 17 minutes and scored 10 points in her preseason debut 🧡 pic.twitter.com/FQPzoS02mC
— espnW (@espnW) May 13, 2023
Again, I would hope so, Brittney. Yet, let’s be real here: we all know she probably hates the national anthem and will continue to push for its removal. She can’t because she wants to focus on the new WNBA season, and it looks unseemly to get back to her America-bashing views fresh out of Russian prison. Maybe she is more appreciative, but that will probably serve as the introductory remarks into another leftist screed that paints America as a racist country or something.
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