Brittney Griner was home for Christmas thanks to President Joe Biden.
Nobody was happier than her wife, Charelle.
Charelle Griner spoke to People magazine in her first public statement since her wife’s return to American soil. Charelle earned her law degree during the 10-month ordeal and acted as a focal point for all parties involved in the negotiations to free the imprisoned WNBA superstar.
She said she’s aware of the controversy surrounding Biden’s decision to leave imprisoned former United States Marine Paul Whelan, who is currently serving a 16-year sentence on espionage charges in Russia, out of the deal that freed a basketball player. However, she invoked former First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, saying she often remembers her advice to go high when her opponents go low.
“You can’t ignore it,” Cherelle said. “But why would I allow something negative to take away from just how powerful and beautiful this moment is? We understand how patriotic President Biden’s move was to get BG home. We understand how important that is for future negotiations because we should all be willing as a country to bring people back one-by-one, making families whole.”
The Russian government originally sentenced Griner to nine years of hard labor in a maximum-security penal colony after she pled guilty to charges of bringing a small amount of medical hashish oil aboard a flight with her Russian Premier League team.
The Griners are currently relaxing in their shared home in Arizona after a two-night stint on a military base outside San Antonio, Texas.
[People]
