Griner, Brittney
Griner’s Sentence Renews Pressure on President Biden
WASHINGTON — Immediately after a Moscow judge handed down Brittney Griner’s nine-year prison sentence on Thursday, calls grew louder for President Biden to find a way to bring her home. “We call on President Biden and the United States government to redouble their efforts to do whatever is necessary and possible,” the Rev. Al Sharpton […]
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Brittney Griner’s Tearful WNBA Teammates Play On After Her Conviction
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Phoenix Mercury Coach Vanessa Nygaard and her coaching staff stood in the empty Mohegan Sun arena on Thursday, puzzled. The Mercury were set to take on the Connecticut Sun at 7 p.m., and her players were supposed to be on the court going through their normal pregame shoot-around, but no one showed […]
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Brittney Griner’s Guilty Verdict Strengthens Supporters’ Resolve
Nothing about Thursday’s proceedings in a Russian courthouse, where the W.N.B.A. star Brittney Griner was being tried on drug smuggling charges, surprised experts familiar with Russia’s legal process. Griner was convicted and sentenced to a penal colony for nine years — just one year shy of the maximum sentence. Her conviction was thought to be […]
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U.S. Offer to Swap Russian Arms Dealer for Griner Highlights Uncomfortable Choices
For their families as well, the choice looks different than for geopolitical figures worried about the precedent. “It’s a hard call, and fortunately I’m not the president of the United States,” David Whelan, Paul’s brother, told Fox News on Thursday. “But if the president makes that difficult decision, I would absolutely support Paul’s release if […]
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Viktor Bout Could Be Swapped for Brittney Griner. Who Is He?
Shortly after his conviction in 2011 on charges including conspiring to kill American citizens, the Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout relayed a defiant message through his lawyer, even though he faced the prospect of decades in prison. Mr. Bout, his lawyer said, “believes this is not the end.” More than a decade later, Mr. Bout, […]
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NBA Campaign to Free Brittney Griner Is Mostly Low Key
The N.B.A. is a $10 billion corporation that has the power and reach to promote not just its teams and players but to provoke discussion and debate around social issues. It has used that influence most prominently to fight racism in the United States. Yet when it has come to Brittney Griner, the W.N.B.A. star […]
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Griner Case Draws Attention to ‘Wrongful Detentions’
WASHINGTON — Brittney Griner. Austin Tice. The Citgo 6. And now, potentially, three American military veterans who were captured by enemy forces after traveling to Ukraine to fight Russia. They are among nearly 50 Americans who the State Department believes are wrongfully detained by foreign governments. At least a dozen more Americans are being held […]
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Glimpses of Brittney Griner Show a Complicated Path to Release
One hundred forty-one days. That is how long Brittney Griner has been behind bars in Russia. That is how long she has been stuck in the middle of a high-stakes staredown between the United States and Russia at exactly the wrong time, as President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia continues his horrendous invasion of Ukraine […]
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Brittney Griner Pleads Guilty to Drug Charges in Russian Court
Brittney Griner pleaded guilty to drug charges in a Russian courtroom on Thursday, as the wrangling over the American basketball star’s fate shifted increasingly to the diplomatic arena — a daunting prospect for Ms. Griner’s supporters amid America’s rift with Moscow over the war in Ukraine. Appearing before a judge outside the Russian capital on […]
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