Brittney Griner

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is escorted to a courtroom for a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, on June 27. ( ...

The Sparks later donated one pair of the shoes to a young girl during the game. The trial could last up to two months, conviction is all but certain and her sentence could be up to 10 years. And the U.S. State Department has since classified her as “wrongfully detained,” so it’s about something much bigger than a vape bust. The heat has got to get up.” The temperature briefly rose last week when the 31-year-old Griner showed up for the first day of her ‘trial’ wearing a Jimi Hendrix T-shirt with her arms shackled together and cuffed to a guard. Experts have agreed that if such an infraction had truly been committed, she would have normally been sentenced to a month in prison, a fine and deportation. We know it and so that’s what hurts a little more.” A letter from influential groups representing women, people of color and the LGBTQ community called upon President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to push to gain her release. “I have zero trust in my government right now,” Cherelle told Associated Press at the time. According to Griner’s representatives, 11 calls from Griner did not go through and the two women never spoke. Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia since Feb. 17. I voted for the first time in 2020 and I voted for you.

“As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments, I'm ...

I miss my teammates! I miss my family! I miss my wife! Griner is expected back in court for a second hearing on July 7. Griner has been detained in Russia for over four months. Griner’s agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, confirmed to news outlets that the letter was delivered to the president on Monday, July 4.

Brittney Griner, a WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist from Texas, has been detained in Russia since February on cannabis possession charges. Her ...

Cherelle Griner also told The Associated Press last month that her wife tried to call her 11 times over a period of several hours to mark the couple’s fourth anniversary. “I will find that balance of harm versus help in pushing our government to do everything that’s possible. Carstens “has met with Brittney’s family, her teammates, and her support network,” Watson said. Because being quiet, they are not moving.” So I’m going to do it myself.’” “I still have not heard from him.

Griner is “terrified I might be here forever,” according to excerpts of a handwritten letter to the president provided to media outlets by a family ...

“Please do all you can to bring us home.” The New York Times has reported that the Russian government possibly is interested in releasing Griner in exchange for the release of Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Bout, known as the “Merchant of Death,” is serving a 25-year federal prison sentence in the U.S. for selling weapons to a Colombian terrorist group. “President Biden, I hope this letter moves you the way it moved me and that you will do whatever you can to bring my wife home quickly and safely,” she said. “As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever,” Griner wrote. Griner is “terrified I might be here forever,” according to excerpts of a handwritten letter to the president provided to media outlets by a family representative. “Please don’t forget about me and the other American [d]etainees,” Griner wrote, according to excerpts of the letter shared by a family representative.

"Freedom means something completely different to me this year," Griner wrote in her letter, which was delivered to the White House on Monday.

So I’m going to do it myself,'" Cherelle said. I miss my teammates!" "We believe the Russian Federation is wrongfully detaining Brittney Griner," Watson said. "I miss my wife! “I realize you are dealing with so much, but please don’t forget about me and the other American Detainees. Please do all you can to bring us home," she said. "It hurts thinking about how I usually celebrate this day because freedom means something completely different to me this year.”

Cherelle Griner said the government needs to do more to help her wife.

... Nothing about this is justice," she added. WNBA star Brittney Griner appealed to President Biden to help her and other American detainees in Russia in a handwritten letter that was delivered to the White House on Monday morning. "I’m terrified I might be here forever": Brittney Griner in letter to Biden - "I’m terrified I might be here forever": Brittney Griner in letter to Biden Because being quiet, they are not moving.” Brittney Griner's wife Cherelle Griner told " CBS Mornings" that President Biden hasn't responded to the WNBA star's recent letter to the White House, adding that the government needs to do more to help her wife.

The WNBA all-star, who has been in a Russian prison since February, gave us a degree of insight into how she was feeling. In a handwritten letter delivered to ...

In advance of the invasion, Russia identified, targeted, and arrested Griner. This in polite circles is known as “hostage diplomacy,” and it’s not the first time Russia has engaged in this practice. The Kremlin denies that Griner is a political prisoner, but this is a “don’t spit in my face and tell me it’s raining” kind of response. She said, “Because I’m her person, she will always try and write persuasively to make sure I don’t break, because she knows I’m studying for my bar, and she knows I have all these things going on, and she’s trying to always be my strong person.” She told Sharpton that Brittney is “struggling” but also attempting to be strong in order to at least try and manage the weight on Cherelle’s shoulders. While the sports media turns its eyes to the soap operatic meanderings of NBA free agency and the State Department offers words without results, Cherelle Griner is living a nightmare. She has become a political prisoner, a bargaining chip for Putin to both taunt the United States and hopefully gets a high-valued Russian prisoner in return.

Mercury coach Vanessa Nygaard discussed the message being sent by not acting faster to bring detained Brittney Griner home from Russia.

It's a statement about the value of a gay person. It's a statement about the value of a black person. "It's a statement about the value of women.

WNBA star Brittney Griner, in a handwritten letter to President Joe Biden, said she fears she will be detained in Russia indefinitely and pleaded with the ...

"We will continue to push for her release and make sure that she is not forgotten." "It made me cry, you know, just hearing her words talking about her father being a Vietnam vet, her new perspective on freedom, her wanting to be with her family and her teammates, her not knowing if she'll ever be free again. "I'm grateful for this overwhelming show of support from Congress. We need to be doing all we can to keep Brittney's case on the forefront and finally put an end to this nightmare," Cherelle Griner said in a statement at the time. It's over 130 days and BG's still not back." Three excerpts from the letter were made public, while the rest is being kept private, the statement said. "It's really, really difficult. I miss my teammates! I miss my family! This is not a situation where the rhetoric is matching the action," she said. I miss my wife! I voted for the first time in 2020 and I voted for you. She went on trial

The letter is an escalation of a pressure campaign by the WNBA star's supporters that comes as her trial proceeds in a court outside of Moscow.

… Four months is too long for this to have gone on, and I hope the president acts on her pleas to come home.” She deserves to see the United States is doing something for her, so she can find the strength as this show trial goes on. “After speaking with her wife last week, I am deeply concerned for Brittney Griner’s physical, mental and spiritual well-being,” Sharpton said in a statement. After being able to speak with Griner in the courtroom, Rood said, “She is doing as well as expected under these difficult circumstances.” In early May, the State Department declared Griner’s case a “wrongful detainment,” an official classification that elevated it to the office of the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. I try to put myself in her shoes, and I’d want somebody fighting for me — people who won’t shut up.” Asked for comment on Griner’s letter to Biden, Adrienne Watson, spokeswoman for the National Security Council, told The Washington Post: “[Biden’s] team is in regular contact with Brittney’s family and we will continue to work to support her family. “Whatever that is.” Her trial began Friday and is expected to continue Thursday; Griner has yet to enter a plea. This letter is going to make them pay attention.” But U.S. officials have not commented on the likelihood of such a swap. In April, U.S. officials secured the release of former Marine Trevor Reed from Russia through a prisoner swap.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked repeatedly about the detained WNBA star on Tuesday during the regular briefing.

Griner has been able to have sporadic communications with family, friends and WNBA players through an email account her agent set up. Griner’s supporters have encouraged a prisoner swap like the one in April that brought home Marine veteran Trevor Reed in exchange for a Russian pilot convicted of drug trafficking conspiracy. “It hurts thinking about how I usually celebrate this day because freedom means something completely different to me this year.” “That means she truly is terrified that she may never see us again. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked repeatedly about Griner on Tuesday during the regular briefing. However Griner’s wife, Cherelle, said Tuesday on a morning talk show that she hadn’t heard from Biden.

In her letter, Brittney Griner reminds Biden about her father who served in Vietnam war and says she misses her wife and family.

I miss my teammates! I miss my family! “I miss my wife!

US President Joe Biden has read a letter from WNBA star Brittney Griner, who has been detained in Russia for more than four months, according to the White ...

"That means she truly is terrified that she may never see us again. "It is a deeply personal letter. - She said the US President would "do everything that he can in his power to to bring her home"

Mercury coach Vanessa Nygaard is not pleased with how the star player's detainment in Russia has been handled.

It’s a statement about the value of a gay person. It’s a statement about the value of a black person. And that’s a statement about our society and who we value and we need to change that.” Griner’s agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas of Wasserman, tweeted after the extension, “The fact remains that the U.S. Government has determined that Brittney Griner is wrongfully detained and being used as a political pawn.” Nygaard has spoken out about the handling of Griner’s case before. Nygaard said, according to Casey L. Moor of USA TODAY. “It’s a statement about the value of women.