Brittney Griner's nearly 300 days of detainment in Russia came to end Thursday morning.
“Good morning, folks, and it is a good morning,” President Joe Biden said at the White House podium. “Moments ago, standing with her wife, Cherelle in the Oval Office, I spoke with Brittney Griner. She’s safe. She’s on a plane. She’s on her way home.”
Biden was flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris and Cherelle Griner.
But while the news of the WNBA star's release excited many Americans, details of the transaction were quickly met with skepticism by others.
What You Need To Know
- WNBA's Brittney Griner was released from a Russian prison in exchange for Russian arms dealer, Viktor Bout, known as the Merchant of Death
- Griner was detained in Russia for 294 days for possessing less than one ounce of hashish oil and cartridges prescribed to her in the U.S. for pain management
- Prisoner and U.S. Marine Paul Whalen was not included in the prisoner exchange
“I wasn’t surprised. I was happy, but I also quickly started reading the news to see what happened underneath it all,” said Juris Pupcenoks, international relations and political science professor at Marist College.
Griner had been detained since Feb. 7 for possessing less than one ounce of hashish oil and cartridges prescribed to her for pain management in the U.S. It is considered an illegal narcotic in Russia.
Her release was a one-for-one swap, something that’s been met with mixed emotions and lots of questions.
“I would like to know what negotiations went on between closed doors where we did a one-for-one swap, where we gave up the merchant of death,” retired Special Forces officer Zac Lois said about notorious arms dealer, Viktor Bout, who the U.S. exchanged for Griner in the deal. “I feel like we got the shorter end of the stick on that deal.”
Biden said Thursday, “Sadly, for totally illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s, and while we have not yet succeeded in securing Paul’s release, we are not giving up.”
Pupcenoks said he wasn’t surprised with the tough decision the Department of State ultimately made.
“Like the Biden’s administration said, it was her or nothing, and it looks like Russia just wouldn’t budge," he said. "Sometimes in foreign policy, you only have bad options or less bad options. I think this was the case for the Biden administration.”
Pupcenoks said he, too, had mixed feelings about the swap.
“You know, there was massive campaign to bring her home, and I'm very happy that she came home. But at the same time, I also see that Russia got exactly what it wanted,” Pupcenoks said.