WNBA star Brittney Griner is back in the U.S. after 10 months in Russia’s custody. Griner was arrested in Moscow and sentenced to nine and a half years in prison for possession of cannabis oil.
Griner’s rescue came with a hefty price tag. The price was giving up notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, a Russian citizen serving a prison sentence in America. Bout, also known as the “Merchant of Death,” was convicted in 2011 of conspiracy to kill Americans and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
The Biden administration reportedly made an offer to swap both Griner and U.S. Marine veteran Paul Whelan who is in Russian custody, for Bout several months ago. Ultimately, Griner got the ticket home and not the U.S. veteran, with President Biden saying he had no choice in the matter.
This is the second failed attempt by the Biden administration to bring Whelan home.
Griner’s rescue has rightfully angered some Americans. Prior to her Russian arrest, she was openly opposed to playing the National Anthem at the beginning of WNBA games and proudly protested it.
In her 2020 statement, she vowed to protest the National Anthem and in the same breath said she didn’t mean any disrespect to the country.
Fast-forwarding to the present day, it isn’t difficult to see why this pinched a nerve with some Americans. As far as Biden “not having a choice,” there are reports that he did have a choice and the choice was a lesbian basketball star who didn’t value honoring our nation’s anthem before the games she was paid to play in.
President Trump DESTROYS Joe Biden over the Brittney Griner prisoner swap! pic.twitter.com/iT146Afj6J
— Nick Adams (Alpha Male) (@NickAdamsinUSA) December 8, 2022
MSNBC’s “American Voices” had Jakota Eaddy, CEO of Full Circle Strategies and black activist, as a guest to discuss her thoughts on the swap.
Eaddy began by rattling off a long list of “powerful” black women who were involved in getting Griner home. She attributed Griner’s return to the black leaders who continued to use their platforms to push and call for her freedom.
Host of the show Alicia Menendez suggested that America’s response to her return home should have been a unified celebration saying it is “undeniably good news.” She then blamed Republican leaders for choosing to use the moment to “pivot back to culture wars.”
Eaddy responded:
“It’s simply un-American to have criticism. To have criticism when an American who has been wrongfully detained … in a Russian penal colony comes home. It’s simply un-American and I think that it’s for us to — yes, we see it. But let it not steal our joy. It is the American thing to do to celebrate this American being free and being home.”
Yes, freedom is undeniably something to be celebrated and valued. Biden chose the individual who would not be in the presence of people honoring our country with the National Anthem. He chose the individual who fit into the radical agendas of the left.
