WNBA star Brittney Griner released from Russia in prisoner swap for arms dealer Viktor Bout

PHOENIX, AZ - OCTOBER 12:  A close up shot of Brittney Griner #42 of the Phoenix Mercury at practice and media availability during the 2021 WNBA Finals on October 11, 2021 at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2021 NBAE (Photo by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images)
By The Athletic Staff
Dec 8, 2022

After being detained for nine months, WNBA star Brittney Griner has been released from Russia and will return to the United States to be reunited with her family, President Joe Biden announced. In exchange for her release, the U.S. government has agreed to a one-for-one prisoner swap for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Here’s what you need to know:

  • The swap took place Thursday in the United Arab Emirates, Biden confirmed in a news conference.
  • Griner is on a plane heading home to the U.S., Biden tweeted Thursday morning and reiterated in his news conference.
  • Griner had been detained in Russia since Feb. 17 when authorities at a Moscow-area airport said they found less than one gram of hashish oil in vape canisters in her luggage. A Russian court convicted her of drug smuggling and possession charges and sentenced her to nine years in prison on Aug. 4.
  • Paul Whelan, an American arrested in Russia on espionage charges and sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020, was not part of the swap, and Biden reiterated the U.S. will continue its efforts to bring him home.

What they’re saying

Biden, who appeared with Vice President Kamala Harris and Griner’s wife, Cherelle, said it “took painstaking and intense negotiations” with Russia to secure Griner’s release.

“These past few months have been hell for Brittney and for Cherelle and her entire family and all her teammates back home. … I’m glad to be able to say that Brittney is in good spirits. She’s relieved to finally be heading home,” he said. “And the fact remains that she’s lost months of her life, experienced needless trauma.”

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Biden added: “She endured mistreatment in a show trial in Russia with characteristic grit and incredible dignity. She represents the best of America.”

After Biden’s remarks, Cherelle Griner spoke to the media with the president and vice president by her side.

“Today, my family is whole. But as you are aware, there are so many families who are not whole. … BG and I will remain committed to the work of getting every American home, including Paul, whose family is in our hearts today.”

Biden said the U.S. government has not forgotten about Whelan and will continue to negotiate for his release.

“This was not a choice of which American to bring home,” he said. “Sadly, for totally illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s. … We’ll keep negotiating in good faith for Paul’s release. I guarantee that. … I urge Russia to do the same.”

U.S. officials worked to include Whelan in the prisoner exchange, but according to NBC News, Russia treated Whelan differently because he is an accused spy. The Kremlin gave the U.S. government the choice of either swapping Griner for Bout or no one after different deals were proposed, per NBC News.

“It’s through hardship that character is revealed, and over the last nine months, we have seen the best of so many,”  Griner’s agent, Lindsay Colas, said in a statement. “At the top of that list are BG and President Biden. Throughout this ordeal, BG has carried herself with courage, grace and grit; and President Biden made us a promise, and then kept his word and did what was necessary to bring her home.”

Colas, an executive vice president at Wasserman, added: “We are forever grateful for his follow-through on that commitment.”

Colas also said Griner and members of Wasserman’s “We Are BG” campaign will continue to work to bring home other Americans who are being held hostage and wrongfully detained.

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“Our eyes have been opened through this process to your struggle and as we have always done, BG and our coalition of activist athletes will ensure that silence is no longer an option,” Colas said. “Your stories will be told, your loved ones’ names will be known, and you will be reunited, because bringing our people home is a moral issue that matters to this Administration. It should matter to all Americans. As patriots, our obligation is to use all available tools to end the needless suffering of Americans and their families.”

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert also released a statement on Griner’s release.

“There has not been a day over the past ten months where we all haven’t had Brittney Griner on our minds and in our hearts and that has now turned into a collective wave of joy and relief knowing that she will soon be reunited with her family, the WNBA player community, and her friends,” Engelbert said. “BG has shown extraordinary courage and dignity in the face of enormous adversity.”

The WNBA Players Association thanked fans for supporting Griner throughout her detainment.

“Today culminates 294 days of relentless effort to free BG from her wrongful detainment,” the WNBPA said in a statement. “We, as a Union, have not been whole since Feb. 17, 2022. But, today, our 144 is complete.

“We express our deepest appreciation for anyone and everyone who supported our campaign, and thank the Biden Administration for its continued efforts over the past 10 months to bring BG home. … BG is a daughter, a sister, a wife, a friend, a teammate, and you showed up for her.”

Backstory

Like many WNBA players, Griner, a center for the Phoenix Mercury, played overseas during the WNBA offseason. She was returning to Russia in February to rejoin UMMC Ekaterinburg, her Russian team, in the Euroleague after a FIBA break when she was detained at the airport.

Following her arrest, Griner was investigated for the “large-scale transportation of drugs” and went on trial in July. During her trial, Griner pleaded guilty to the drugs charges and told a judge that she unintentionally packed the hashish oil while rushing to prepare to go to Russia. A doctor prescribed cannabis to Griner for chronic pain, and medical marijuana is legal in Phoenix.

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After she was found guilty of drug smuggling and possession charges, the White House opened negotiations with Russia in an effort to bring Griner home. In October, the White House said it had a “substantial offer” on the table and urged Russia to accept it or “bring a strong counteroffer.” The deal included a swap for Bout in exchange for Griner and Paul Whelan, an American arrested in Russia on espionage charges. Whelan was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020 and has repeatedly denied the charges and asserted his innocence.

Whelan is still imprisoned in Russia.

Earlier this month, Griner was taken to a penal colony in the Russian region of Mordovia. The WNBA star was at Female Penal Colony IK-2 in Yavas, about 300 miles southeast of Moscow.

Who is Viktor Bout?

Bout, nicknamed “The Merchant of Death,” is a former Soviet military officer turned international arms dealer. He was serving a 25-year prison sentence in the U.S. on charges of conspiring to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons to a Colombia-based terrorist group that the Department of Justice said were to be used to kill Americans.

Bout, whose life inspired a Hollywood movie, was arrested in Thailand in a sting operation in 2008 led by U.S. drug enforcement agents. He was extradited to the U.S. in November 2010 and convicted of terrorism charges a year later. Bout has maintained he is innocent, while the Kremlin has repeatedly called for his release over the years.

Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement Thursday that Bout has returned home to Russia following the prisoner swap agreement with the U.S.

Required reading

(Photo: Michael Gonzales / NBAE via Getty Images)

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