Stephen Curry conveys his thanks to President Joe Biden and others involved in the success of Brittney Griner’s prison release
WNBA star Brittney Griner was held as a prisoner in Russia since February 2022. During all this time, Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry has been a big supporter of bringing Brittney Griner back to the United States.
Finally, Brittney Griner is freed. On Thursday, it was announced that Griner would be back home due to a prisoner swap deal between the U.S. and Russia, involving international arms dealer Viktor Bout and Griner.
Marking this occasion, four-time NBA champion Steph Curry opened his speech at the 2022 Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year Awards by expressing his thoughts on Griner’s return back home.
“We are glad she’s home, we’re glad she’s reunited with her family,” Curry said. “It’s a constant reminder for everybody continuing to use their platforms to speak on issues that are meaningful and can move the needle. Thank you to President Biden’s administration for being a part of that fight. But, it’s also a reminder that we all need to stay engaged in the fight to protect American citizens at home and abroad who are wrongfully detained, and we can continue to be engaged in that fight. BG, we love you. We thank you for your sacrifice and your continued perseverance and patience to get through this process, and hope you enjoy reuniting with your family. We are always with you, BG.”
Before the speech, Curry expressed the same thoughts while talking on the red carpet.
Speaking on the red carpet, Stephen Curry said, “It is amazing that Brittney’s home,” Curry expressed. “It was obviously too long of a process to get her back from being unlawfully and unrightly detained in Russia. I think one, shout out to President [Joe] Biden and his administration and all the athletes, activists, people who used their platform to speak on her behalf. I know there’s a conversation now there’s hopefully leading to protecting and speaking on other American citizens that are still unlawfully detained overseas, and knowing that there’s still a lot of families that are in a similar predicament. This is great news that Brittney is home, excited to see her get back with her family.”
In February 2022, Brittney Griner was detained in a Russian airport because airport officials claimed that she had hashish oil in her luggage.
Fast forward to July 2022, Griner pleaded guilty in the Russian court and stated that she had no intention of breaking the law.
Then on August 4, 2022, Griner was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony after a monthlong trial. Finally, in December 2022, after a total of a ten-month ordeal, Griner is finally free and coming home.
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