Of course he was. She was not a D level athlete. Women’s bball is enormously popular. She was the number one star. Think more Lebron James than whatever you are imagining. The Russians played this card when it suited them.
Right. It's all Griners fault. No one (should be) contesting that. They are saying that countries hating and targeting American citizens with insane punishments to use for prison swaps is immoral. If you love America, (unlike the left), this should bother you. Your solution to not travel to countries that hate the US is only for you. Americans can legally travel to Russia, whether they are there for business, or missionaries, and also demand to be treated fairly by the Russian court system according to Russia's own standards when they break Russia's laws. People who are idiots still deserve fair justice.
Why should I be bothered if people make stupid decisions. Of course we can legally travel to other countries, but that doesn’t mean we should.
It is precisely this entitled attitude which is why people hate the US in the first place. “Demand to be treated fairly” reeks of stupidity.
You mean being treated by a court system fairly, consistent with their own standards is a stupid concept?
Wow, you are so naive. You seriously think this was just a one off “random” search by some airport security officials and they were shocked to find drugs? Griner was an American celebrity working in Russia. Her every move would be monitored by Russian security. She was a positive propaganda tool until it was decided it would be more valuable to arrest her. Yes, this is how it works. If you are truly disputing this is what transpired, then you don’t know anything about how Russia works.
I think trump called up Putin and told him that griner had pot in her luggage Since they are so tight they had her arrested and incarcerated. This is so unfair We should give Russia anything they want to get her back and reunite with her wife
Wow, you are so naive. You seriously think this was just a one off “random” search by some airport security officials and they were shocked to find drugs? Griner was an American celebrity working in Russia. Her every move would be monitored by Russian security. She was a positive propaganda tool until it was decided it would be more valuable to arrest her. Yes, this is how it works. If you are truly disputing this is what transpired, then you don’t know anything about how Russia works.
I heard the reason Putin invaded Ukraine was to entice WNBA "stars" East so he could nab 'em all!
Do you know for a fact that she was taking CBD oil into the country for years and Russian authorities knew about it until Putin "had a fit".
If you can provide any evidence of this actually being the case rather than what you "strongly suspect" then we can talk about the corrupt state of Russias border law.
With a straight face you are going to claim Russian border law is not corrupt? That’s laughably naive. OMG one of our favorite athletes, the star of our greatest sports team, the money maker for my friend was shockingly found to have hash oil in her bag. What a tragedy. Well, I’m Russia we have the rule of law, and nobody is above the law. Ok, we sentence her to 9 years of hard labor….unless you return to us one of our murderers….🤣🤣🤣
Wow, you are so naive. You seriously think this was just a one off “random” search by some airport security officials and they were shocked to find drugs? Griner was an American celebrity working in Russia. Her every move would be monitored by Russian security. She was a positive propaganda tool until it was decided it would be more valuable to arrest her. Yes, this is how it works. If you are truly disputing this is what transpired, then you don’t know anything about how Russia works.
I think trump called up Putin and told him that griner had pot in her luggage Since they are so tight they had her arrested and incarcerated. This is so unfair We should give Russia anything they want to get her back and reunite with her wife
Trump probably made her smoke weed. You know the ol peer pressure thing.
Trump: "You're not cool if you don't smoke weed Brittnay. None of us will be friends with you, and we'll tell everyone at school that your lame."
I think trump called up Putin and told him that griner had pot in her luggage Since they are so tight they had her arrested and incarcerated. This is so unfair We should give Russia anything they want to get her back and reunite with her wife
Trump probably made her smoke weed. You know the ol peer pressure thing.
Trump: "You're not cool if you don't smoke weed Brittnay. None of us will be friends with you, and we'll tell everyone at school that your lame."
I think trump called up Putin and told him that griner had pot in her luggage Since they are so tight they had her arrested and incarcerated. This is so unfair We should give Russia anything they want to get her back and reunite with her wife
Trump probably made her smoke weed. You know the ol peer pressure thing.
Trump: "You're not cool if you don't smoke weed Brittnay. None of us will be friends with you, and we'll tell everyone at school that your lame."
Why not show support a fellow American who is imprisoned by unjust laws? Is it really that hard?
Anyone who thinks she received a fair trial is either delusional or ignorant.
Because she hates America? That's why I won't support her. She criticizes America but sure wants our help in coming back here. She can rot there for all I care.
So you equate criticism with hate? You one of those new age parents that never criticize their children because it might hurt their feelies? good gawd, you snowflakes are ruining this country.
To know if the sentence was fair, we would need to know what a Russian Citizen would get for the same crime (On average)
Until we know that no one knows if it is fair or not, if the average sentence is 2 years, then they were unfair if the average is 7- 10 years then it is fair. Is the Sentence consistent with what most people get for the same crime IN RUSSIA?
Not a fan but have sympathy. 9 years is the price you pay when your home country is at war via proxy. No prisoner exchange. We shouldn't negotiate with terrorists.
Wow, you are so naive. You seriously think this was just a one off “random” search by some airport security officials and they were shocked to find drugs? Griner was an American celebrity working in Russia. Her every move would be monitored by Russian security. She was a positive propaganda tool until it was decided it would be more valuable to arrest her. Yes, this is how it works. If you are truly disputing this is what transpired, then you don’t know anything about how Russia works.
You're probably right, I agree. But just because it's to Russia's advantage to hold her, doesn't mean they're wrong in enforcing their laws. Or that she should be given any leeway for breaking them.
Do you know for a fact that she was taking CBD oil into the country for years and Russian authorities knew about it until Putin "had a fit".
If you can provide any evidence of this actually being the case rather than what you "strongly suspect" then we can talk about the corrupt state of Russias border law.
With a straight face you are going to claim Russian border law is not corrupt? That’s laughably naive. OMG one of our favorite athletes, the star of our greatest sports team, the money maker for my friend was shockingly found to have hash oil in her bag. What a tragedy. Well, I’m Russia we have the rule of law, and nobody is above the law. Ok, we sentence her to 9 years of hard labor….unless you return to us one of our murderers….🤣🤣🤣
She elected to enter into Russia (with drugs in her bag) at a time when there was an advisory from the state department warning Americans about arbitrary enforcement of local law, the inability of the government to get one out of the country, etc. Now we are in a position where they are discussing trading her for one of the absolute worst people on the planet (the arms dealer that inspired the film Lord of War). Trading one dumb basketball player for a man with the blood of thousands of human beings on his hands sounds like a terrible idea.
Aboss - I think you are correct in pointing to realpolitik.
i am a fan of Womens hoops and have followed Griner for quite some time. She has made a number of questionable judgments, including not controlling her temper and some indication of violence. I initially irrationally and wrongly put this at the feet of Kim Mulkey, about as strong and as effective of a leader as one could have, but really Griner has long had maturity issues, and she owns those. it is not easy being the dominant center, fouled and hacked all of the time as well as the frequent object of unkind statements, but that is the way of being a dominant big person.
As far as her dislike of America, well, I disagree with many of her perspectives. But heck, why argue now? She darn well knows the difference now between America (imperfect) and a totalitarian state.
if she did something like smuggle kilos of cocaine, well, I could see casting her to the winds. But she had by accounts traffic ticket amounts of residue. Russian public health or safety wasn’t impacted and indeed she is a political pawn - a good one in the minds of many Russian leaders where homophobia attracts a following in that country.
I think we have got to bring her back. The fact that she hasn’t appeared to be particularly grateful to the US is in fact a reason to bring her back home - we just don’t take care of those who lavish praise on the US - we have to take care of our citizens. Whatever her flaws, she is our citizen.
The price of this will be high - the Russians will want more than Bout. And I wouldn’t put negotiation skills high on the list with this administration. But I think we have to find a way to get her back. Not sure how this plays out - will be longer and fraught with more difficulty than I can imagine. Note for all those that say conservatives or those that tend to conservatism want her to rot, I am clearly not in that camp. Query what if the Russians indeed ask for “too much”?