US basketball player Brittney Griner, who has been in prison in Russia since February, has been released as part of a prisoner exchange and is on her way home.
“She’s safe. She’s on a plane. She’s on her way home,” US President Joe Biden wrote on Twitter. The US President explained at a media event in the White House that he spoke to the US basketball player himself, with Brittney griners Woman Cherelle by his side.
Their arrival in the US is expected within 24 hours, according to Biden: “Brittney will soon be able to hug her loved ones.”
Cherelle Griner: “Family is reunited”
Cherelle Griner, who had kept up the pressure on the US government with public statements in recent months, was relieved in the White House. You have experienced the darkest moments of your life, “today my family is reunited”.
grinner was sentenced to nine years in prison at the beginning of August and most recently transferred from Moscow to a penal colony in the Republic of Mordovia. She was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport in February because she vape-Carried cannabis oil cartridges in her luggage.
Arms dealer But gets released in exchange for Griner
According to US media reports citing government sources, the United States and Russia had agreed on an exchange that freed the two-time Olympic champion from custody. In return, it was agreed that the Russian arms dealer Viktor But, who has been in a US prison since 2010, will return to Russia.
This was also confirmed by the Russian Foreign Ministry in a statement on Thursday: “On December 8, 2022, the exchange of Russian citizen Viktor Bout for US citizen Brittney Griner was successfully completed at Abu Dhabi Airport.” According to the Russian agency Interfax, Bout has now landed in Russia.
According to the New York Times, US authorities also confirmed that the exchange took place in the United Arab Emirates and expressed their gratitude to the official bodies in the Emirates. In addition to President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is said to have been involved in organizing the exchange, according to a joint statement by the two Arab states.
WNBA commissioner Engelbert: “Educate players more”
The US Basketball Association responded with a statement on Griner’s release. One is relieved that she is on her way home: “We are grateful for the work of the US government and everyone who worked behind the scenes to bring this about.”
Cathy Engelbert, the head of the WNBA league, also thanked the President and US diplomacy for their commitment. At the same time, Engelbert announced that in future he would educate the players more about the possible risks of foreign engagements and, above all, that he wanted to put the league’s economic framework to the test so that the “players have a stronger incentive to spend the off-season closer to home “.
Salary structure in the WNBA drives players abroad
Before her arrest, Griner was engaged to the Russian club Yekaterinburg. How many players from the WNBA she hired after the end of the relatively short season overseas, where the salaries are sometimes higher than in the US professional league. The maximum salary was raised to $230,000 after the latest collective bargaining between the league and the players’ union. Top stars like Griner, two-time Olympic champion, can still earn significantly more abroad, with top Russian clubs like Yekaterinburg allegedly even earning more than a million dollars.
the WNBA was also therefore under pressure in the course of the Griner case to adjust the salary structure again in order to make foreign commitments appear less lucrative. So that the players don’t even have to leave their country and their families during the break in the USA – and run the risk of getting caught between political fronts.
“Not another day“, wrote Griners Club phoenix mercury, who had counted the days that the star basketball player was held in Russia during the more than nine months of captivity on Twitter. “At 294 days we can stop counting. Our friend, our sister is coming home. Here where she belongs.“