A nightmare that lasted for 10 long months has come to an end for American basketball star Brittney Griner. Held in a Russian prison on drug charges, the American athlete made her way to the United States after her release was secured on Thursday in a one-for-one prisoner swap for international arms dealer Viktor Bout.
An official said that Griner, 32, is making her way to the US from Russia via the United Arab Emirates. She will first be taken to the US Army’s Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio where she will be debriefed and then be allowed to return to her home in Phoenix.
Her release was announced by President Joe Biden on Thursday from the Roosevelt Room of the White House, with Cherelle Griner, Brittney Griner’s wife, smiling by his side. “I spoke with Brittney Griner,” Biden said. “She’s safe. She’s on a plane. She’s on her way home after months of being unjustly detained in Russia, held in intolerable circumstances.”
He added: “Brittney will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones — and she should have been there all along.”
‘One of the best athletes in the world’
Brittney Griner is a professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). She also formerly competed with the US Olympic basketball team in 2016 winning gold at the Rio Games and picking up her second winner’s medal in Tokyo last summer.
Griner had a stellar career on court before she was arrested by Russian authorities. In 2012, during college, she led the Baylor Lady Bears to National Collegiate Athletic Association victory. On the path to victory, Griner broke numerous records, including the most blocks in a season in NCAA history with 223.
In the following year, the lanky athlete — known for her dunking skills — was selected first by the Phoenix Mercury. In total, Griner is a seven-time WNBA All-Star – only seven players in WNBA history have made more All-Star appearances. She was named an honorary All-Star at this year’s game.
However, before being recognised as perhaps the greatest female basketball player, Griner says in her autobiography that she was bullied for her height and tomboyish appearance as a child.
She wrote in her autobiography that she spent much of her time “wishing away so much of what would eventually make me successful at basketball: my size, strength, and tenacity”.
Brittney Griner is arguably one of the best female athletes in the world. She has won two Olympic golds and holds several records in the world of basketball. AP
At the age of 22, Griner came out as gay, becoming one of the most prominent LGBT athletes in the world. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, she said that the decision “wasn’t hard at all”. “I’ve always been open about who I am and my sexuality,” she said. “If I can show that I’m out and I’m fine, then hopefully the younger generation will feel the same way.”
In 2013, she also became the first openly gay player to be endorsed by Nike in a multi-million dollar deal.
Melissa Isaacson, a sportswriter and professor at Northwestern University in the US state of Illinois, has been quoted as saying, “Griner is every bit the Tom Brady of her sport. You could argue very accurately that she is one of the best athletes in the world.”
Griner’s Russian arrest
It’s Griner’s second job as a player for EuroLeague team UMMC Ekaterinburg that led her to be in Russia and her subsequent arrest there.
It was on 17 February that Griner was travelling through the Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow when Russian customs officials allegedly found cartridges containing the cannabis oil in her luggage. She was then taken into custody at the airport on charges of large-scale transportation of illegal narcotics, which carried a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
Her detainment occurred shortly before Russia launched its war in Ukraine, with geopolitical tensions making it undoubtedly more difficult to secure her release.
On 1 July, her trial began with the Russian government stating that she had “bought two cartridges for personal use, which contained 0.252 grams and 0.45 grams of hash oil,” according to a courtroom report from state news agency Tass.
WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is escorted to a courtroom for a hearing in Khimki just outside Moscow. File image/AP
Griner pleaded guilty to the charges, saying, “I’d like to plead guilty, your honour. But there was no intent. I didn’t want to break the law.”
However, the court didn’t accept her reason and sentenced her to nine years behind bars in August and a subsequent appeal in October upheld her sentencing.
On 17 November, Griner was then relocated to a penal colony in Mordovia, situated about 350 kilometres east of Moscow. Her lawyers had then said: “Brittney is doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong as she adapts to a new environment.”
Also read: How the Brittney Griner-Viktor Bout swap is a throwback to US-Russia prisoner exchanges
Her quest for freedom
Since her incarceration in Russia, Griner’s family and friends have been calling for her release.
In June, it was reported that the White House had offered to exchange Griner and another American, Paul Whelan, for the ‘Merchant of Death’ Viktor Bout — the infamous Russian arms dealer, serving a prison sentence in the US.
In mid-September, US officials said Russia hasn’t responded to the offer.
Griner also wrote to US president Joe Biden in July. “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.
“I realise you are dealing with so much, but please don’t forget about me and the other American Detainees. Please do all you can to bring us home. I voted for the first time in 2020 and I voted for you. I believe in you.”
Finally, after months, Griner has come home. It is left to be seen if Griner will take to the court in May 2023 when the WNBA season commences.
With inputs from agencies
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