Brittney Griner reacts to release from Russian prison during swap | USA TODAY

Russian state media blurred some officials' faces during Brittney Griner's prisoner exchange at Al Bateen Executive Airport in Abu Dhabi.

RELATED: Brittney Griner released from Russian imprisonment after prisoner swap

Phoenix Mercury center and WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner has been released from a Russian penal colony and is in United States custody after a prisoner exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout, President Joe Biden confirmed Thursday morning.

Senior administration officials said Griner had been released from the penal colony within the last 48 hours and taken to Moscow before flying to the United Arab Emirates and is currently on her way back to the United States.

CBS News was first to report the exchange.

In a speech at the White House, Biden said the exchange had been in the works for the past two weeks, and that he had given the final go-ahead. He added that he had spoken with Griner on the phone. Griner's wife, Cherelle Griner, was at the White House on Thursday.

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47 comments

  1. Ohhhhh snap, now That’s a news story. As if the dream team was not enough…
    Wow. Just wow. Fooled me.

  2. I’m fine with this as long as marijuana gets legalized over here. This makes no sense to trade prisoners for marijuana convicts in Russia while we’re arresting people and sending them to prison for the same thing over here.

    1. You’re fine with trading one of the most infamous arms dealers….for a vape pen…do you understand the message that sends??? I wouldn’t trade 1000 of it for one Victor Bout if we legalized anything I wanted. You do understand how bad Putin has wanted Bout for how long right’s? & they invaded Ukraine about a week after taking her??? He planned this. We should’ve afforded no leniency towards him. Idk if he was being released in 2029, or December 31st 2022. His dealings killed hundreds of thousands of people.

  3. An arms dealer for this bit what a joke.
    And they left another marine behind this administration has got to go

    1. Your people wanted to hang Mike Pence and use our flag to attack capitol police. It’s all on video, have you seen it? or were you there, traitor?

    2. Honestly, with as much arms dealing as the Biden administration has done, they probably felt sympathetic to his cause

    3. I don’t think the basketball is more important than the Marine. But you have to understand that the Marine is specifically there to attack Russia. The basketball player is there just to play sports it’s neutral for the basketball player. That’s like us releasing a terrorist back to a terrorist country. I’m not saying what they did is right I’m just saying that it’s a basketball player they are of course going to release her she’s not a soldier or a fighter who’s there to attack their country

    4. @Rose Smith yes I understand it all but for an arms dealer ? That part is weird, now the marine being there for espionage is warranted that he’s in prison. It’s just an interesting move

    1. @Mary js Yes he is. But he joined the United States Marines. Not the Canadian military. He signed the dotted line and served The United States. And are you going to nitpick everyone’s comments? And are you so narcissistic that you actually like your own?

    2. @MichaelMyers’knife it’s doesn’t matter if he’s a usa marine. He still is a Canadian. Why are you denying that he’s a Canadian? Is he your deadbeat daddy?

  4. Now release everyone over here serving sentences for weed. Tired of rich privileged celebrities getting bailed out of everything.

  5. The man the US traded for her was an international arms dealer. A lot of people are going to die just so she can return to a country she hates. This is justice? I weep.

    1. So glad we told the Russians that we consider a war criminal and a WNBA player a fair trade- definitely suggests the strength of our resolve moving forward……….. than again, politicians in America have considered “not losing” the same as winning for the past 60-70 years (yet they can’t figure out why we just committed Vietnam 2 in Afghanistan………?) clearly standards for the media/political hierarchy must be pretty low these days………

  6. No disrespect just looking a the thumbnail I legit thought wtf does Pete Davidson have to do w/ Brittany Griner’s release.😂

  7. The crazy part is she breaking the law flying out of here with that stuff to begin with and got traded for an arms dealer 😂🤣

    1. @Doc LoLo I’m not saying that Whelan isn’t a better swap, I’m saying that getting someone back who only did 10 months ad their guy did 15 years, looks good too. Plus the extreme sentence given to BG was over the top for this exact purpose. From what I read the Whelan swap wasn’t so easy since they had someone else to give us back. Trump turned down that swap anyway

    2. @80s Teen someone doesn’t seem to have some critical thinking. the smart idea would have just been to pass on the deal given it wasn’t worth the trade. one is an arms dealer, the other is an antiamerican WNBA player

    3. @LuizPrower The reason the arms dealer was released was because the WNBA player was being held on a ridiculous sentence for her charge. Biden recognized Bout had done 15 years already on 25 for his crimes and Griner was being held on an unjust sentence. That is critical thinking

    4. @80s Teen that isn’t critical thinking. one is someone you don’t want to let out for as long as possible, who has connections and has led to the death of many. the other is an american hating WNBA player.

      That is critical thinking. it doesn’t matter how long he served, you don’t trade someone like that for an antiamerican. Especially one so dangerous versus someone like Griner

    5. @LuizPrower I guess the supreme court is anti American since they ruled way back in the 1940s that no one can be forced to take part in a patriotic ceremony. It doesn’t mean you hate America because of your peaceful protest and freedom of speech. Furthermore, she’s not lying that blacks had zero rights when the anthem was written and it’s the military paying money to the leagues to show some sort of fake and forced patriotism. You don’t have to agree with her views, that’s called being an American. She wasn’t breaking any laws of the land that would warrant her being Anti American. I’ve been a correctional officer for 20 years in prisons and jails. These repeat offenders are prime examples of people who hate America. And do you think Trump loves America when he defrauds student out of money, when he says a POW isn’t a war hero, when he dodges the draft 5 times, when he stiffs contractors, when he prays for the housing crisis so people will be homeless, when he kisses non consenting women, when he leaves his followers out to dry for Jan 6 but pardons Lil Wayne, when he ignores covid briefings for 2 months, when he shuts down the federal government at Christmas time because he didn’t get his way?

    1. I KNOW! Ive never heard a single female, in MY ENTIRE life that has deep voice like that. It is built like a man. I’ve been saying this for years and people look at me like in the one who’s Rtardd!

  8. If Britney Griner doesn’t start campaigning for the other Americans to come home (that are still imprisoned in Russia) it’s going to prove how much of a piece of work she is. Why should anyone have campaigned for her to come home if she wouldn’t do the same thing for someone else?

  9. This has to hurt retention numbers. Imagine giving your life willingly and be held as a prisoner only to get left behind. What a shame.

  10. This seems crazy to me she broke the law she really broke the law the Marine did nothing wrong and they bring her back here and let her go free 🤣🤬🤬God bless America if your basketball player if you’re a Marine you’re screwed

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