TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Brittney Griner’s family, friends and fans are celebrating now that the WNBA star is headed back to the United States after being detained in Russia for the past nine months.
The Biden administration negotiated a deal to bring Griner home in exchange for a convicted Russian arms dealer being held in the U.S.
Griner is expected to land in San Antonio, just a few hours away from where she rose to fame in Waco. The former Baylor Bears legend will be taken to the Brooke Army Medical Center for a routine evaluation before she can finally be reunited with her family.
“I’ve visited that facility before,” said Congressman Marc Veasey. “It’s a one-of-a-kind operation. The men and women that staff it are tremendous, and I’m certain Brittney Griner is going to be well cared for in that facility.”
Griner was arrested in February at a Moscow airport with less than a gram of cannabis oil in some vape canisters. She pled guilty in July, but said she had no criminal intent.
She received a nine-year sentence.
“The release is where we leave the world of law and enter the world of diplomacy and negotiation,” said Jeffrey Kahn, a University Distinguished Professor of Law at SMU.
In exchange for Griner, the U.S. released Russian Viktor Bout, who was serving a 25-year sentence in a U.S. federal prison for conspiring to kill Americans.
“There’s no doubt that he’s a bad guy, and I don’t think anyone should think he’s going to go back to Russia and just retire,” Congressman Veasey said.
The notorious arms dealer is known as the “Merchant of Death.”
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“It is simply sick to equate Brittney Griner’s offense with Viktor Bout, but unfortunately… this is apparently what it took to bring Brittney Griner home,” Kahn said. “Sadly, it wasn’t possible to bring other detained Americans home as well.”
President Biden said they haven’t forgotten about former Marine Paul Whelan, who’s been unjustly imprisoned in Russia for almost four years.
“Sadly, for illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul’s case differently from Brittney’s and while we have not yet succeeded in securing Paul’s release, we are not giving up,” the president said.
Griner’s family and friends acknowledged the mixed emotions surrounding her homecoming.
“You got to take the deal that’s on the table to bring one of us home,” said Dawn Staley, Griner’s Olympic coach. “And fortunately for our community, it’s Brittney. But we’re going to pray for the Whelan family and all those other families that have loved ones over there, because the same God that brought Brittney home will be the same God that bring their loved ones home.”
This deal is the second of its kind this year. Trevor Reed, a former Marine from North Texas, was released from Russia in April as part of a prisoner exchange.
“I would urge all Americans to not go [to Russia],” Veasey said. “It’s just not worth it. And I would even say on organized trips, I don’t think it’s worth it to go to Russia, to North Korea, to any rogue country that would seek to hold Americans for some sort of gain in leverage. Please do not visit these countries.”
