“I like it [Brittney Griner] back home… [but] We can’t trade this horrible person for him. This is not a fair deal,” professional basketball player Enes Kanter told Freedom Friday on Fox News. The story of Martha McCallum.
An outspoken critic of human rights issues in countries like Communist China, Freedom officially added the word “Liberty” to her name after she became a US citizen in 2021.
WNBA player Griner, who was arrested at Moscow airport with TsKB oil in his luggage in February, was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison on drug charges by a Russian court on Thursday morning. The Biden administration has reportedly offered to trade Britney for convicted arms dealer and “death dealer” Victor Bout, who is serving a 25-year sentence in the United States for selling weapons to a terrorist group in Colombia.
“I’ve been following his case closely and I have one thing to say: We cannot send death dealers. A man who has cost thousands of lives selling illegal weapons in Africa, Asia, and we cannot replace this horrible man. This is not a fair deal,” he said.
“First of all, you know, he pleaded guilty and the punishment was severe, and of course I want him to go home like everyone else because I know how bad prisons are in Russia,” he told Freedom McCallum. .
Britney Griner awaits her verdict in jail during a trial in Khimki, near Moscow, on August 4, 2022. (via EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA/AFP Getty Images)
For Griner protesting the national anthem being played at WNBA games, Freedom said, “I know one thing he misses: the national anthem, every word of the national anthem in these Russian prisons.”
In July 2020, Griner told sports media: “I really believe we shouldn’t be playing the national anthem in our time. I think we should take this position.”
When asked how he would feel if he decided to play the league anthem, Griner replied, “I will still protest. I will not sing the national anthem. If the league wants to play more, that’s fine. It’ll be the whole season, I’m not there.”
However, in July, after pleading guilty in a Russian court, Griner seemed to have changed his mind when WNBA player Biden sent a letter to the White House pleading for his release and citing American liberties:
On the 4th of July, our family often honors those who fought for our freedom, including my Vietnam War veteran father. It pains me to think about how I usually celebrate this day because freedom means something very different to me this year.
Britney Griner has been released from the courtroom following the hearing on Thursday, August 4, 2022, in Khimki, near Moscow. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlyanichenko)
Freedom says she can’t risk the return of a dangerous prisoner like Booth while she wants Griner back home.
“We can replace him with someone important, but we will not extradite someone like a terrorist, arms smuggler, who will really harm the United States in the long run. This is not a fair deal,” Freedom said.
Victor Bout (centre), led by armed Thai police, arrives at a criminal court in Bangkok, Thailand, on Tuesday, October 5, 2010. (AP Photo/Apicart Weerrawong) #
McCallum showed a clip of Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby: “We are fully committed to finding a way to get Britney back… her family, friends, and teammates. We are ready to continue negotiating with the Russians, but it must be a two-way street.”
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Wednesday, February 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
“What is a two-way street?” ‘ Liberty replied. “He’s a basketball player and another man is responsible for thousands of lives. It’s not a fair deal. … I want to bring him home. He deserves to be here. But the White House needs to watch what they do because this man could hurt the United States… [Bout] He is an arms smuggler and above all a terrorist.”
McCallum also asked Freedom, a world-traveling athlete, who is responsible for preparing athletes for the geopolitical situations they may face while playing abroad, and how the athletes are doing.
Freedom said Agent Griner should have prepared him for a trip to Russia, “one of the world’s worst dictatorships,” but added: “It’s unacceptable to go there and take cannabis oil with him… he sinned.” … it’s also not just about him, it’s about the WNBA and the NBA.”
“I think we absolutely have to train these athletes when they leave America because they want to sit here and criticize America, but on the other side of the world they don’t have the freedom that they have in America,” Svoboda said. . “They should really do their research when they go outside of America.”
Source: Breitbart
