Brittney Griner reportedly released from Russian prison 10 months after arrest

[Scott]

 

Tyler Greenawalt

Thu, December 8, 2022 at 6:21 AM

 

 

WNBA star Brittney Griner will reportedly be released from a Russian prison, according to CBS News.

 

In exchange for her release, the United States government will reportedly send convicted international arms dealer Viktor Bout back to Russia. Retired U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who is also currently imprisoned in Russia for the past four years, is reportedly not part of the prisoner swap.

 

This news comes months after back-and-forth negotiations between the U.S. and Russia following Griner's arrest in February after officials found hash oil in her luggage. She pleaded and was found guilty of drug smuggling charges and was originally sentenced to nine years. Griner was sent to a penal colony in November.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/brittney-griner-reportedly-released-from-russian-prison-10-months-after-arrest-132117187.html

 

[Social Media]

 

[pgrahmm]

How fortunate for her....

 

Realistically, the time spent seems more in line with her (perceived) intent....But, she was exactly where she placed herself......

 

Hopefully, elitist lesson learned....

[alex8912]

I really hope there won't be unnecessary gushing about this. This is the day Paul Whelan should have been released. 

[gamb00ler]

They should have given Bout a parting shot of polonium-210.

[Social Media]

36 minutes ago, alex8912 said:

I really hope there won't be unnecessary gushing about this. This is the day Paul Whelan should have been released. 

 

[alex8912]

6 minutes ago, Black Ops said:

 

Class act unlike Brittany. Just imagine if it WAS his day? Oh the outrage by some! Of course he would say this. 

[Jingthing]

I'm happy for her but the Russkies sure got the better deal  Hey folks stay out of Russia.

 

It also kind of fits Putins propaganda narrative. Look at the big fish we got in exchange for a lesbian that we consider worthless. The west sure is messed up.

Edited December 8, 2022 by Jingthing

[Credo]

I am very happy she has been released.  It was a good deal, maybe not the best, but good nonetheless.  She has been an inspiration to many and an asset to the sport's world.  Among her accolades, she was selected as the number one high school player in the country in 2009.  She has been the recipient of two Olympic Gold medals.  In 2012 and 2013 she was the given the Wade Trophy for best female NCAA Division female player.  She was the winner of the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award twice.  

 

It's sad that so many haters are here to detract from a wrongfully detained person.  It's understandable that a lot of bigots are upset that a black, female, lesbian who has achieved so much would not be kept in jail.  

 

If hate was painful, many would be suffering inexcusably. 

 

[Jingthing]

Again, I'm happy that she's free but I don't like that Russia will be using this deal for their fascist anti LGBT propaganda. As far as I'm concerned the west is at war with Russia now, and the west NEEDS to win. 

 

I hope this doesn't foreshadow future unfavorable deals trying to reach peace in Ukraine prematurely. 

Edited December 8, 2022 by Jingthing

[kinyara]

A guy America sought for years for being involved in the global supply of arms directly involved in killing their own citizens, no doubt spending tens of millions of dollars to eventually capture him funnily enough here in Thailand, and  bigging up his eventual capture in an almost Escobar news scale.

 

Versus a sportswoman who knowingly took her own illegal drugs into a foreign country.

 

Way to go USA, you never fail to disappoint with your victories.

 

 

[Jingthing]

Yes this was a very uneven exchange but clearly in wartime Russia Putin wasn't going to budge for anything less.

[alex8912]

38 minutes ago, Credo said:

I am very happy she has been released.  It was a good deal, maybe not the best, but good nonetheless.  She has been an inspiration to many and an asset to the sport's world.  Among her accolades, she was selected as the number one high school player in the country in 2009.  She has been the recipient of two Olympic Gold medals.  In 2012 and 2013 she was the given the Wade Trophy for best female NCAA Division female player.  She was the winner of the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award twice.  

 

It's sad that so many haters are here to detract from a wrongfully detained person.  It's understandable that a lot of bigots are upset that a black, female, lesbian who has achieved so much would not be kept in jail.  

 

If hate was painful, many would be suffering inexcusably. 

 

There is absolutely no hate on this thread ( as of now) what in the world is going on in your head?  Your middle paragraph is quite  dramatic and may reflect on your own inner bigotry! Really quite appalling! 
Do you realize who EXACTLY she was "traded" for. Have you looked up his stats before you spewed out her high school achievements? Please look up HIS stats. Your post is disturbing actually. 
This was a horrible deal. Putin is soo happy right now. This is even bigger than Brittany's Gold metal but you don't get it. 

Edited December 8, 2022 by alex8912

[Credo]

1 minute ago, alex8912 said:

There is absolutely no hate on this thread ( as of now) what in the world is going on in your head?  Your middle paragraph is quite  dramatic and may reflect on your own inner bigotry! Really quite appalling! 
Do you realize who EXACTLY she was "traded" for. Have you looked up his stats before you spewed out her high school achievements? Please look up HIS stats. Your post is disturbing actually. 

Yes, I know who she was traded for.  We got a still young, dynamic BB player.  They got a used arms dealer who long ago passed his use-by date.  

[kinyara]

6 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Yes this was a very uneven exchange but clearly in wartime Russia Putin wasn't going to budge for anything less.

Why give him the victory when he is on the retreat ?  It yet again shows how weak your government is and its lack of moral compass.  I'm afraid that one individual who placed herself in the firing line because of her own misdemeanours,  is as usual because she's a high profile American being given a free pass over and above the far more heinous crimes of a worldwide terrorist that your country spent years and millions of dollars bringing to justice. It's nothing to do with Putin, focus on your own country's lack of backbone.

 

 

[ozimoron]

7 minutes ago, Credo said:

Yes, I know who she was traded for.  We got a still young, dynamic BB player.  They got a used arms dealer who long ago passed his use-by date.  

I am happy for her also. My only complaint is that she was last in and first out. It wasn't her turn. Public opinion drove this trade, nothing else. Had Biden traded Whelan instead  they'd have been up and down Penn. Ave with pitchforks.

 

The reality on the ground was that it would only ever be one for one. The Russians wouldn't contemplate any others and Biden took what he could get. You can't win 'em all.

Edited December 8, 2022 by ozimoron

[ukrules]

2 hours ago, Scott said:

In exchange for her release, the United States government will reportedly send convicted international arms dealer Viktor Bout back to Russia.

Putin gets his buddy back then.

 

Also he's apparently served plenty of his 25 year sentence already having been arrested in Thailand in 2008, that's 14 years ago.

[ozimoron]

1 minute ago, ukrules said:

Putin gets his buddy back then.

 

Also he's apparently served plenty of his 25 year sentence already having been arrested in Thailand in 2008, that's 14 years ago.

He'll be watched like a hawk all his life anyway so I doubt that he could ever be a danger again. It will be difficult for him to even leave Russia I suspect. Persona non Grata.

[alex8912]

17 minutes ago, Credo said:

Yes, I know who she was traded for.  We got a still young, dynamic BB player.  They got a used arms dealer who long ago passed his use-by date.  

Is the WMBA that popular except in your mind? Do they regularly fill up sports venues? She is no Kobe.  She didn't even want to play here. Sports people are not hero's. 

Edited December 8, 2022 by alex8912

[Credo]

3 minutes ago, alex8912 said:

Is the WMBA that popular except in your mind? Do they regularly fill up sports venues? She is no Kobe.  She didn't even want to play here. Sports people are not hero's. 

I suspect you mean WNBA.  I see you want to make it personal but it's probably best not to go there.  Your derogation of a sport's hero is noted.  I see from this and your previous remark that you are not happy that she has been released.  

 

As for the WNBA, I don't watch sporting events, and I've never seen a women's basketball game other than the short clips shown on sport's news and regular news outlets.  Are they popular?  Well yes, as a matter of fact they are, and they are growing.  They do regularly fill up sport's venues, according to their various social media.  They are nowhere near as popular as men's BB which made around $7 billion compared to the women who made around $60 M.  Just out of interest, does it matter how much money they make?  Does it matter how big the venue?   Is your concern the finances only, or does justice matter to you at all?

 

I guess haters are just going to hate.  

[cdemundo]

No shade on Brittany, it's a mistake many make.

But Westerners and it seems especially Americans don't seem to get the message about how careful you have to be carrying drugs across foreign borders.

What's legal in my country may be a major offense in another nation.

I even take care with making sure i have documentation if needed for my Rx and OTC medications; I don't use any recreational drugs (well caffeine in coffee) so I don't have that concern.

Glad she was released, I know there will be carping over this or that aspect of her release, but to me it's a good thing.

[alex8912]

2 hours ago, Credo said:

I suspect you mean WNBA.  I see you want to make it personal but it's probably best not to go there.  Your derogation of a sport's hero is noted.  I see from this and your previous remark that you are not happy that she has been released.  

 

As for the WNBA, I don't watch sporting events, and I've never seen a women's basketball game other than the short clips shown on sport's news and regular news outlets.  Are they popular?  Well yes, as a matter of fact they are, and they are growing.  They do regularly fill up sport's venues, according to their various social media.  They are nowhere near as popular as men's BB which made around $7 billion compared to the women who made around $60 M.  Just out of interest, does it matter how much money they make?  Does it matter how big the venue?   Is your concern the finances only, or does justice matter to you at all?

 

I guess haters are just going to hate.  

Who exactly am I hating?  You pulled that out of your mind too?  This was a win for Putin. I guess you love him. 

[Jingthing]

There was a lot going on with this case.

She is reasonably famous in the US.

That shouldn't matter but it does, on both sides.

Pressure for the U.S. government to do something and the value of the catch for Putin. 

Of course she played in the U.S. She felt she wasn't paid enough compared to men so was ALSO playing in Russia for the money.

Her being lesbian made her a more valuable catch for Putin as Putin is framing the genocidal war against Ukraine in terms of fighting the LGBT tolerant west. 

The American far right wing, sleazeballs such as Donald Trump Jr., demonize LGBT people in a similar way to Putin and were against getting her out because they see lesbians as not worth anything.

Also what she did may be illegal, but there is no doubt that the punishment was very extreme and not anywhere near normal for such a case in Russia, meaning the obvious, that she was held completely for political and trading power purposes.

But Russia still won on this trade both objectively and propoganda-wise as Bout is a really really get get for Putin, and a basketball celebrity man or woman, doesn't really compare.

 

Moral of the story: Stay the F out of Russia!

Edited December 8, 2022 by Jingthing

[KhunLA]

6 hours ago, Credo said:

It's sad that so many haters are here to detract from a wrongfully detained person.  It's understandable that a lot of bigots are upset that a black, female, lesbian who has achieved so much would not be kept in jail.  

 

If hate was painful, many would be suffering inexcusably. 

 

She certainly was NOT wrongfully detained, as transporting drugs is illegal in most countries, even in most places in the USA.

 

Putin wins again, as the administration bows to the special interest groups, and the other guy rots who 'served' his country. 

 

Instead a drug addict gets her undeserved freedom, and USA looks weak again.

 

USA bails out someone who has nothing good to say about her home country.   I would have let her stay right where she put herself.

Edited December 8, 2022 by KhunLA

[sqwakvfr]

1) The Britney Griner book deal 2) Britney Griner talk show circuit tour 3) The Exclusive, Exclusive sit down interview with Oprah 4) The Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded by Joe Biden 5) A standing ovation at the next WNBA game 6) The Grand Marshall at the next Pride Festival Parade in both West Hollywood and New York.  All these accolades are coming for the returning hero.  

 

Meanwhile “The Merchant of Death” is sharing a bottle of vodka with Vlad.  At this point Paul Whelan will be in Russia for a very long time because the US does not have an equally valuable Russian to swap for .  It should have been a 2 for 1 deal because old Viktor was a very valuable asset. 

Edited December 8, 2022 by sqwakvfr

[KhunLA]

1 minute ago, sqwakvfr said:

1) The Britney Griner book deal 2) Britney Griner talk show circuit tour 3) The Exclusive, Exclusive sit down interview with Oprah 4) The Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded by Joe Biden 5) A standing ovation at the next WNBA game 6) The Grand Marshall at the next Pride Festival Parade in both West Hollywood and New York.  All these accolades are coming for the returning hero.  

 

Meanwhile “The Merchant of Death” is sharing a bottle of vodka with Vlad.  At this point Paul Whelan will be in Russia for a very long time because the US does not have an equally valuable Russian to wrap for .  It should have been a 2 for 1 deal because old Viktor was a very valuable asset. 

Along with movie deal, will probably the best 10 months she ever invested.

 

Millions to be made ... damn embarrassing.

Wish the 'not profiting by criminal activity' would apply to her.  I would boycott anything she's associated with.

 

She'll probably get more endorsements, instead of losing them for drug abuse.  What an inspiration ... crime pays.

[Scott]

Troll post removed.  Posting false or unsubstantiated claims will result in a suspension.  

 

[Bkk Brian]

It would have been preferable for Paul Whelan to come back first but we don't know what was going on behind the scenes, according to the Whitehouse this was the only option there was, that was it. Trump tried for over two years to get an exchange for him and so far Biden has not managed it. At the end of the day a US citizen, despite her failings has been returned home, instead of hate at least celebrate that fact.

 

Paul has just given a statement:

 

Exclusive: Paul Whelan tells CNN he is ‘disappointed’ that more has not been done to secure his release

Detained American Paul Whelan expressed his frustration that more has not been done to secure his release in an exclusive CNN interview hours after another detained American, Brittney Griner, was freed.

Whelan said he was happy that Griner was released, but told CNN, “I am greatly disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release, especially as the four year anniversary of my arrest is coming up.”

“I was arrested for a crime that never occurred,” he said in a phone call from the penal colony where he is being held in a remote part of Russia. “I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here.”

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/08/politics/paul-whelan-cnn-interview-brittney-griner/index.html

 

[wombat]

A drug user gets exchanged for an arms dealer while a marine gets left behind.

Not even Monty python would buy onto that one.

How long before the next presidential election?

[Hakuna Matata]

7 hours ago, alex8912 said:

There is absolutely no hate on this thread ( as of now) what in the world is going on in your head?  Your middle paragraph is quite  dramatic and may reflect on your own inner bigotry! Really quite appalling! 
Do you realize who EXACTLY she was "traded" for. Have you looked up his stats before you spewed out her high school achievements? Please look up HIS stats. Your post is disturbing actually. 
This was a horrible deal. Putin is soo happy right now. This is even bigger than Brittany's Gold metal but you don't get it. 

Don't forget that Victor Bout spent 10 years in the American prison. His term was nearly coming to an end anyway.