Brittney Griner knows only too well the emotions of being involved in a prisoner swap, and she said on Thursday night she is “head over heels” that
Brittney Griner knows only too well the emotions of being involved in a prisoner swap, and she said on Thursday night she is “head over heels” that fellow Americans have arrived home from Russia.
“Great day. It’s a great day. It’s a great day,” Griner said after the US women beat Belgium 87-74 to clinch a berth in the Paris Games quarter-finals. “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.”
The two-time Olympic gold medalist went through her own prisoner exchange with Russia in 2022 after having been sentenced to nine years in jail for drug possession and smuggling.
Her comments came shortly after news emerged that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and ex-marine Paul Whelan, who were both convicted of espionage charges that the US government considered baseless, were returning to the US from Russia. The released prisoners were greeted by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris when they landed in Washington DC late on Thursday.
