“Woke” WNBA star Brittney Griner has broken her silence and released a statement from a Russian prison.
Griner released a statement on her 32nd birthday as she faces up to spending the next nine years in the gulag.
The basketball player issued a statement through her lawyers Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov.
Griner said: “Thank you everyone for fighting so hard to get me home.
“All the support and love are definitely helping me.”
Her lawyers said:
“Today is of course a difficult day for Brittney.
“Not only is this her birthday in jail away from her family, teammates, and friends, but she is very stressed in anticipation of the appeal hearing on October 25.”
The WNBA issued a statement that said:
“Happy Birthday Brittney Griner, we will not forget about you and we will not stop fighting for you.
“The W won’t be the same until you’re home #WeAreBG.”
Happy Birthday Brittney Griner, we will not forget about you and we will not stop fighting for you. The W won’t be the same until you’re home 🧡 #WeAreBG pic.twitter.com/J5sO2EkGLL
— WNBA (@WNBA) October 18, 2022
According to The Daily Mail:
The basketball player’s cell mates are both English speakers who are also in jail on drug charges.
Prison rules dictate that inmates are only allowed to shower twice a week and Griner is able to get fresh air once a day.
The prison holds about 1,248 inmates and features a sewing factory that employees more than 400 inmates.
In July, the Times referred to the prison as having ‘gray painted halls and grim tall walls.’
But a top aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin gave WNBA star Brittney Griner some bad news recently.
As Slay News reported, Yury Ushakov claims that Democrat President Joe Biden is not interested in negotiating Griner’s release.
In a statement, Ushakov said that Biden is only making public calls to release Griner because he thinks it will help with the midterms.
However, Ushakov claims that it is a non-issue behind the scenes and no negotiations have been taking place.
Ushakov, who was Russia’s ambassador to the United States between 1998 and 2008, warned that freeing Griner from prison is not a priority for the Kremlin.
“In this tense situation, I think that he is thinking first and foremost about the upcoming midterm elections so he keeps emphasizing the need to bring back home the basketball player who was detained for drug smuggling. However, it’s not the main issue that we are concerned about,” Ushakov said.
According to Axios:
Russia confirmed in August that it was negotiating with the U.S. about a potential prisoner exchange.
“Not with Putin,” President Biden said Wednesday when asked if there had been any progress on a potential meeting with the Russian president to discuss Griner’s case, per a White House pool report.
Griner’s spouse, Cherelle Griner, said in an interview earlier this month that Griner had suffered to “the max.”
“Brittney Griner’s birthday is today, she’s 32 years old.”
Steph gave BG a shoutout during the Dub’s ring ceremony. She’s been wrongfully incarcerated in Russia for 243 days. pic.twitter.com/dCh0SvxZUl
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 19, 2022
