Brittney Griner’s wife Cherelle Griner is doing whatever she can to get her freed from detention in Russia. According to her, it’s only President Joe Biden who can go get her from the Russian authorities. Cherelle says the last time she heard Brittney’s voice was February 17, 2022, the very “day the WNBA star was detained in Russia.”
ESPN has the details;
Now, Cherelle Griner said she hopes her voice reaches President Joe Biden.
“There is one person that can go get her, and that’s our president,” Griner told Angela Rye in an interview that is airing Wednesday on ESPN. “He has that power. You know, I’m just like, ‘Why are we not using it? Like, urgently, use it.’ We’re expecting him to use his power to get it done.”
Brittney Griner, a center for the Phoenix Mercury, was detained at a Moscow airport after Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges that contained hashish oil, which is derived from cannabis. The crime carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The Biden administration has said Griner, a 31-year-old two-time Olympian for the United States, is being wrongfully detained.
Cherelle Griner, who earlier this month graduated from the North Carolina Central University School of Law, said she has spoken with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken as well as NBA commissioner Adam Silver and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert. She also credited the Mercury for their support. But she is very concerned for Brittney’s well-being.
“I’m in a position of complete vulnerability right now. I have to trust people that I didn’t even know until Feb. 17,” Cherelle Griner said. “So I’m trusting her lawyers. … ‘How does she look? How is her spirit? How is her energy?’ I’m just asking all those questions, trying to just get some type of indication or vibe.
“Some days they say, ‘She’s really strong. … She seemed in good spirits when we talked.’ And sometimes they’ll say, ‘Her energy was really low.'”
Brittney Griner was returning to Russia to complete her season for UMMC Ekaterinburg when she was arrested. Cherelle Griner said she was initially hopeful that Brittney’s detention would be short. She also said she feels that if an NBA player were being detained in Russia, there would be greater urgency on the U.S. government’s part.
“We do live in a world that, the bigger the platform, the bigger the urgency,” Cherelle Griner said.
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