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'I'm terrified': Brittney Griner sends Biden handwritten letter amid trial in Russia
WNBA star Brittney Griner asked President Joe Biden to bring her home from detention in Russia, where she is being tried on drug smuggling charges, in a handwritten letter Monday.
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WNBA star Brittney Griner asked President Joe Biden to bring her home from detention in Russia, where she is being tried on drug smuggling charges, telling the president in a handwritten letter: "I'm terrified."
“As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever,” Griner wrote.
A spokesperson who released excerpts of Griner’s letter Monday said the document was delivered to the president at the White House on Monday. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter.
Griner, 31, a Houston native who is a center for the Phoenix Mercury, was detained in February by Russian Federal Customs Service agents at Sheremetyevo airport near Moscow. She plays for a Russian team during the WNBA's offseason.
“I miss my wife! I miss my family! I miss my teammates!” she wrote to Biden. “It kills me to know they are suffering so much right now. I am grateful for whatever you can do at this moment to get me home.”
Russian authorities allege that she was in possession of cannabis-derived vape cartridges. Griner's representatives haven’t addressed the technical substance of what she is alleged to have possessed, and the line between non-psychoactive cannabidiol — better known as CBD, which is popular among athletes as a possible aid in workout recovery — and psychoactive cannabis isn’t recognized in Russia. CBD is generally recognized as legal in the U.S., and the World Anti-Doping Agency removed it from its list of prohibited substances in 2018.
In her letter, Griner recognized July Fourth as a time to celebrate the nation’s freedoms.
"On the 4th of July, our family normally honors the service of those who fought for our freedom, including my father who is a Vietnam War Veteran," Griner said. "It hurts thinking about how I usually celebrate this day because freedom means something completely different to me this year."