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The Memo: Why Brittney Griner is a political problem for Biden
Google News ^ | BY NIALL STANAGE 07/05/22 06:43 PM ET

Posted on 07/05/2022 9:09:54 PM PDT by 11th_VA

The public outcry around the plight of Brittney Griner is growing louder — and that spells trouble for President Biden, who has been unable to free the basketball star from detention in Russia.

Griner wrote to Biden in recent days saying she was “terrified I might be here forever”.

Her wife, Cherelle, appears to have lost patience with the administration to take a low-profile approach to Brittney’s jailing.

On Tuesday, Cherelle Griner told “CBS Mornings” that it was “very disheartening” not to have heard from Biden directly.

Cherelle Griner added: “It kills me every time that, you know, when I have to write [Brittney] and she’s asking, ‘Have you met with them yet?’ And I have to say no.”

Rev. Al Sharpton, generally a staunch defender of Biden, is seeking the administration’s help in securing a clergy visit to see Griner in Moscow.

In an interview with this column, Sharpton said that he had spoken with Cherelle Griner both on the phone and on his radio show last week…

Her plight poses several interlinked problems for the White House.

First, given the war in Ukraine, it seems highly implausible that Russian authorities will be inclined to release Griner for the sake of goodwill.

Second, the idea that Moscow might be able to use Griner as leverage to obtain the release of Viktor Bout, an infamous Russian arms dealer nicknamed ‘The Merchant of Death’ is unpalatable, both morally and politically. Bout was sentenced to 25 years on terrorism charges in a 2012 trial in New York.

Thirdly, there are particular sensitivities raised by the failure to obtain the release of Griner, a Black, gay woman.

’ On Monday, Griner’s head coach with the Phoenix Mercury, Vanessa Nygaard, told reporters: “If it was LeBron [James], he’d be home, right?” …

(Excerpt) Read more at news.google.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2012; alsharpton; basketball; billrichardson; drugs; gaylobby; griner; hashoil; lgbtq; merchantofdeath; phoenixmercury; prisonerswaps; russia; sharpton; shirascheindlin; sports; viktorbout
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To: Jamestown1630

Or Taiwan:


21 posted on 07/05/2022 9:39:53 PM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: 11th_VA

She will eventually be released. There will be a movie. She will make a few million dollars. The victim becomes the hero.


22 posted on 07/05/2022 9:42:58 PM PDT by Mr. N. Wolfe
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To: 11th_VA

B’cause bitch, he done care.


23 posted on 07/05/2022 9:43:05 PM PDT by drSteve78 (Je suis Deplorable STILL)
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To: Spktyr

I don’t care what she was wearing - and how many of our pop-culture icons are not, or haven’t been, drug users?

I care whether the charges are true, or if they were fabricated. Items may have been hers, but what they claim was in them wasn’t necessarily what she brought into the country.

If this were an outspoken, patriotic American athlete, you’d be asking the same questions I am.


24 posted on 07/05/2022 9:45:26 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: Jamestown1630

yup... she said it’s medicinal thc


25 posted on 07/05/2022 9:47:53 PM PDT by Chode (there is no fall back position, there's no rally point, there is no LZ... we're on our own. #FJB)
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To: 11th_VA

what public outcry?....all manufactured crisis.....almost all people do not even know let alone care for this America hating person....


26 posted on 07/05/2022 9:51:05 PM PDT by cherry (;)
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To: Jamestown1630

I did ask the same questions. Over the course of the last several months, her family has basically admitted the contents were what the Russians say they were. Apparently she/they didn’t think there’d be a problem.

Someone traveled internationally without checking the rules.


27 posted on 07/05/2022 9:58:11 PM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: Bob434

Wen I recall back in the day when Freepers gathered every Fri night in from of places that needed to be shook up...politically speaking, I can’t help wondering why we are not gathering in front of that jail in DC. Well, maybe every members of FR are like me, too old.


28 posted on 07/05/2022 10:00:00 PM PDT by WVNan
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To: Spktyr
She did this to herself. She should count herself as lucky that she didn’t do this in Singapore.

This is a problem with being a drug addict. She knew the risks of bringing hash into Russia, but she needed that hash. She was willing to take the chance.

29 posted on 07/05/2022 10:01:36 PM PDT by Right_Wing_Madman
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To: Right_Wing_Madman

I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt to the level of her possibly forgetting to remove the vape cartridges from her luggage. It’s still on her for not checking and clearing her luggage of potential contraband after prior travel - just like you have to make sure you remove extra firearms from your general luggage before flying if your last journey was a road trip down to the coast to shoot with your friends.


30 posted on 07/05/2022 10:04:31 PM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: Jamestown1630

Baloney. This is a hotshot narcissistic “star” who feels entitled to do whatever she wants because.. .BIPOC and all that right? Too bad Russia is not impressed by idiot American identity politics. Smuggling drugs into Putin’s Russia was never a good idea.


31 posted on 07/05/2022 10:05:46 PM PDT by hinckley buzzard ( Resist the narrative.)
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To: 11th_VA

Biden won’t do much. Russia could execute her, and Biden still wouldn’t do much.


32 posted on 07/05/2022 10:08:15 PM PDT by FreedomForce
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To: WVNan

could be- lots of freepers been here for many years-


33 posted on 07/05/2022 10:10:30 PM PDT by Bob434 (.)
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To: 11th_VA

“If it was LeBron” well, he may bend over for China but he’s not stupid enough to pack hash in his luggage.

War or not, Biden could easily cut a deal (the Israelis do this all the time, even for dead soldiers). He apparently has other priorities.


34 posted on 07/05/2022 10:22:53 PM PDT by KingofZion
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To: 11th_VA

35 posted on 07/05/2022 10:23:26 PM PDT by Enterprise
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To: 11th_VA

I recently saw another hot take from the libs on this case: The whole reason Brittney Griner was in Russia to begin with was (supposedly) to make ends meet in a summer league in Russia. If she were paid better by the WNBA, you know, on a scale more comparable to her male counterparts in the NBA, she would never need to play overseas to begin with. You see, it was the patriarchy’s fault she was in that position to begin with.

I can’t believe the mental gymnastics it takes to get to that point, but there are people (men with he/him in their twitter bios and “birthing people” mostly, but I’m no biologist) who accept that idiotic premise in the first place. It doesn’t matter that Griner had been playing overseas for years, mostly in Russia, and should have been well versed in their laws with regard to what is considered illegal drugs there, or at least know what she could reasonably get away with and what she risked by tempting fate.


36 posted on 07/05/2022 10:25:07 PM PDT by jz638
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To: 11th_VA; Impy; BillyBoy; GOPsterinMA; NFHale; LS; campaignPete R-CT; AuH2ORepublican; Clemenza; ...

If Russia releases Griner, they have to release all folks held for drug crimes. Why does Griner deserve special treatment ?


37 posted on 07/05/2022 10:25:19 PM PDT by fieldmarshaldj (America Owes Anita Bryant An Enormous Apology)
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To: fieldmarshaldj

Personally, if found guilty, I think she needs to spend the full 5-10 years of the sentence in a Russian jail. Such arrogance and entitlement should be appropriately rewarded.


38 posted on 07/05/2022 10:45:09 PM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: jz638

If we had a GOP leadership that wasn’t deathly afraid of what mean things the New York Times would say about them (and their own shadows), they would be running subversive ads online questioning whether Biden’s inaction in this case is an indication that he actually hates black women. Don’t come out and state it, just ask the question. Watch the fun afterwards.


39 posted on 07/05/2022 10:59:28 PM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: Spktyr

Yup.


40 posted on 07/05/2022 11:25:59 PM PDT by fieldmarshaldj (America Owes Anita Bryant An Enormous Apology)
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