WNBA star Brittney Griner was famously sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison in Aug. 2022 for carrying cannabis oil. The Texas-born athlete was initially detained in February 2022 and spent 10 months in Russian custody before being released in a U.S.-Russia prisoner swap in December 2022. Speaking out on Thursday, Griner said she was “emotional” and overjoyed to hear about the release of U.S. citizens Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and Alsu Kurmasheva, who were freed from Russian jails in a new prisoner swap.
“Great day. It’s a great day. It’s a great day,” said Griner, per the Associated Press. “We’ll talk more about it later. But head over heels happy for the families right now. Any day that Americans come home, that’s a win. That’s a win.”
Griner is currently in Paris representing the U.S. at the Paris Summer Olympics. On Thursday, she came off the bench to help Team USA win 87-74 against Belgium, securing their place in the quarter-finals on Aug. 7.
Griner and her wife, Cherelle Griner, also shared a joint statement on Instagram, addressing the release of the prisoners and expressing concern for other American hostages that remain overseas.
“The Biden-Harris Administration showed true leadership once again by doing whatever it took to bring Americans home. Every American returned is a win,” the couple said. “As we extend support to those who have returned and celebrate the collective hands that helped to make American families whole—we must continue to do everything we can to shine a light on the remaining Americans detained. #BringThemHome.”
The athlete has long called for the release of Gershkovich and expressed support for the Wall Street Journal journalist and his family after he was sentenced to 16 years in prison last month, following 15 months of detainment in Russia.
“My heart goes out to him, his family, and all his loved ones,” Griner said in an interview with NBC’s Liz Kreutz. “We have to get him back. We have to. I went through that and I understand what that means.”
The prison swap on Thursday was the largest prisoner swap between the two countries since the end of the Cold War. Alongside the American citizens who were released, other dissidents who expressed discontent with Putin’s government were freed as well, including German, British, and Russian citizens. Altogether, Western countries combined to release eight prisoners in exchange for freeing Russia freeing 16 prisoners.
Since her release from prison in Russia, Griner has become an advocate for Americans wrongfully detained abroad, working with the Bring Our Families Home Campaign to help raise awareness and advocate for the safe return ofU.S. citizens detained abroad.