By Michael Williams
The wife of WNBA star and Texas native Brittney Griner released a video thanking President Joe Biden for his administration’s ongoing efforts to secure Griner’s release, seven months after she was arrested in Russia on drug charges.
The release of the video came as Griner spent her 32nd birthday in prison on Tuesday.
“I’ve felt every minute of the grueling seven months without her,” Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, said in the video. “I want to thank President Biden for the Administration’s efforts to secure her release. As my family and I continue on this journey, I’d like to thank our friends leaders and supporters who continue to stand with us and advocate for Brittney’s swift and safe return.”
The video went on to call for a “unified commitment to bringing all Americans home,” a possible reference to Paul Whelan, an American and former Marine who is imprisoned in Russia after being convicted of espionage in 2020.
Griner was detained in Russia in February after officials said they found cannabis oil in her luggage at an airport. In August, she was convicted on drug charges and sentenced to nine years in prison.
The Biden Administration has described Griner, who played for the Phoenix Mercury, as wrongfully detained. The Russian government has said it’s open to discussing the possibility of releasing Griner in a prisoner swap, but warned against public statements about her detention.
Biden met Cherelle Griner in the Oval Office in September. Earlier this year, he met and spoke with the family of Trevor Reed, another American who had been imprisoned in Russia on what U.S. officials described as false charges. Reed returned to the United States in April.
