LeBron James does not think America has had Brittney Griner’s back while she’s been incarcerated in Russia.
James was speaking on “The Shop” and this soundbite came from the trailer of an episode that will be released on Friday.
“She’s been there over 110 days,” James said of Griner. “Now, how could she feel like America has her back? I would be feeling like, ‘Do I even want to go back to America?'”
As for further context, we will have to wait until Friday.
Griner was arrested in the airport in Moscow in February and accused of possessing cannabis vape cartridges. She has since pled guilty to the offense, which carries a punishment of up to a decade in jail (whether she was guilty or not, legal experts have argued that adjudicating the trial would be her best bet to get home the fastest).
LeBron James said that he isn’t sure he would want to return to the United States if he were Brittney Griner. Getty Images
Brittney Griner has been incarcerated in Russia since February on accusations that she possessed cannabis vape cartridges. AFP via Getty ImagesThe U.S. State Department has argued that Griner is being wrongfully detained. Griner and her wife, Cherelle, have lobbied President Biden to get her home. The administration has said it is a priority.
Last week, Vanessa Nygaard, coach of Griner’s WNBA Phoenix Mercury, wondered aloud if Griner would be home by now if she were James.
“If it was LeBron, he’d be home, right?” Nygaard asked. “It’s a statement about the value of women. It’s a statement about the value of a black person. It’s a statement about the value of a gay person. All of those things. We know it, and so that’s what hurts a little more.”
Russian media has broached the subject of a prisoner swap between the United States and Russia involving Griner and notorious arms trader Viktor Bout — nicknamed the “Merchant of Death” — who is serving a 25-year sentence.
