Brittney Griner Sends Message From Prison On Her 32nd Birthday

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“Thank you everyone for fighting so hard to get me home,” Griner said in a statement released through her lawyers on Tuesday.

WNBA star Brittney Griner, who has been detained in Russia since February, released a statement on her 32nd birthday thanking followers for their support.

“Thank you everyone for fighting so hard to get me home,” Griner said in a statement released through her lawyers on Tuesday, and as reported by CNN and other news outlets. “All the support and love are definitely helping me.”

Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport in February after cannabis paraphernalia was allegedly found in her luggage at a security checkpoint. She was found guilty of drug possession in July and sentenced to almost a decade in prison. 

She testified during her trial that she had not been fully informed of her rights following her arrest. 

Her birthday message follows on the heels of a statement over the weekend by a Kremlin official who said that Griner’s release is not a priority for Russia. 

In an interview with CBS Mornings earlier this month, Griner’s wife, Cherelle, described the situation as being “like a movie for me.” 

She continued, “I’m like, in no world did I ever think our president and a foreign nation president would be sitting down having to discuss the freedom of my wife. And so for me, as much as everybody’s telling me a different definition of what BG is, it feels to me like she’s a hostage.” 

This situation, she said, “terrifies me.”

Cherelle and others connected to the basketball star have started #WeAreBG, a campaign to lobby government officials for Griner’s release. Supporters are using the hashtag in their birthday wishes to Griner.

“Happy Birthday Brittney Griner, we will not forget about you and we will not stop fighting for you,” the WNBA posted on its Twitter platform. “The W won’t be the same until you’re home.”

Billie Jean King also shared her support on Twitter. “Today, Brittney Griner turns 32. She will spend her birthday in a Russian prison, where she has been unlawfully detained for 8 months,” the tennis legend wrote. 

King continued, “Let’s continue to advocate for her release and bring her home.”


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