Freed from a Russian penal colony and back on American soil, WNBA star Brittney Griner is not forgetting that there is another American that was left behind and imprisoned just like she was.
The Olympic gold medalist arrived at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio last week and is now staying with her wife, Cherelle Griner, in a residential environment on the base.
Whelan has been imprisoned in Russia under suspicion of espionage since 2018 and even though the Biden Administration attempted to include him in Griner’s prisoner swap for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout, Russia pushed back on it and stated they would only the WNBA star.
Griner has since released a message about how she’s “heartbroken” that Whelan is still behind bars in Russia.
“She is thinking about his family and talked about her intention to call them as soon as she gets home,” Griner’s agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas told CNN’s Anderson Cooper earlier this week. “She’s really committed to telling this story and making sure that this population of wrongfully detained Americans, that people know their names.”
Former President Donald Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social that he “turned down a deal with Russia” to trade Bout for Whelan because Bout “has killed untold numbers of people with his arms deals.”
Griner, who played in Russia during the WNBA offseason, noticeably had her signature locks cut off which was done on her own accord since she was preparing herslef to deal with the freezing cold temps in Russia. She had no clue how close the U.S. was to securing her freedom.
At the Texas military base, Griner hit the basketball court for the first time and her first move was a dunk. Months ago, in pre-trial detention in Russia, Griner was offered a basketball and a hoop, but she declined to play.
We have no word on if Griner will play in the WNBA in 2023. The season doesn’t kick off for months, so she has plenty of time to get ready.
