BREAKING: US has traded Russian arms dealer, Viktor Bout (Merchant of Death) for Brittney Griner

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Maybe this is a bad time to bring this up, because Griner personally was clearly a victim of horrific injustice at the hands of the Russina government.

But I’m a little surprised that all these professional athletes playing in Russia have never come under more criticism for their participation in sportswashinging, essentially enriching themselves by promoting the interests of Putin’s oligarchs. 

Griner herself was paid by a Russian mining billionaire who was blacklisted as part of the sanctions put on Putin supporters following the Ukraine invasion. I would think that someone who presents herself as socially conscious as Griner does would never want to be associated with this sort of thing, even if it does make her a lot of money.

[lfromnj]

Maybe this is a bad time to bring this up, because Griner personally was clearly a victim of horrific injustice at the hands of the Russina government.

But I’m a little surprised that all these professional athletes playing in Russia have never come under more criticism for their participation in sportswashinging, essentially enriching themselves by promoting the interests of Putin’s oligarchs.  

Griner herself was paid by a Russian mining billionaire who was blacklisted as part of the sanctions put on Putin supporters following the Ukraine invasion. I would think that someone who presents herself as socially conscious as Griner does would never want to be associated with this sort of thing, even if it does make her a lot of money.

Exactly. She was making 200k a year here to begin with and excluded any endorsements from companies like Nike. She didn't need to go overseas to play for a Russian team but she chose to and American has to pick up the bill. Even worse is now she's going to get rewarded by stupid book deals or other media stuff.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

This is a bit of a tough call but as Bout was on track to be freed in a decade anyway and probably isn't really a threat anymore I'm going to have to say I'll approve.

[emailking]

Brittney Griner arrives in the US after being released from Russian custody in a prisoner exchange

Brittney Griner, the American basketball star detained by Russian authorities in February, has safely returned to the United States after being released from custody in a prisoner exchange.

Griner, 32, “arrived at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas early Friday … and was taken to Brooke Army Medical Center for a routine evaluation,” a State Department official told CNN.

US officials who met Griner said she was “in good spirits” and “incredibly gracious,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told CNN. Griner stepped off the plane shortly after 5:30 a.m. ET at Kelly Field.

...

Griner’s release was secured after a prisoner swap between the US and Russia that involved international arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was arrested in 2008 in Thailand and extradited to the US in 2010.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/09/us/brittney-griner-release-us-arrival-friday/index.html

[The Dowager Mod]

I wish I had the energy to be disgusted by all of the intimation about how Griner is somehow worth less as a human being than others, but unfortunately it no longer surprises me.

[VBM]

I’d rather see a guilty person let free than an innocent person sent to the gulags. Bout already served a lot of his sentencing anyways, and there’s no guarantee that he’s gonna go back to being an arms dealer

Why would Russia want him if he's not of any use to them, then?

He was in prison. How would Putin be able to verify with him if he plans to go back to being an arms dealer?

[Santander]

Maybe this is a bad time to bring this up, because Griner personally was clearly a victim of horrific injustice at the hands of the Russina government.

But I’m a little surprised that all these professional athletes playing in Russia have never come under more criticism for their participation in sportswashinging, essentially enriching themselves by promoting the interests of Putin’s oligarchs.  

Griner herself was paid by a Russian mining billionaire who was blacklisted as part of the sanctions put on Putin supporters following the Ukraine invasion. I would think that someone who presents herself as socially conscious as Griner does would never want to be associated with this sort of thing, even if it does make her a lot of money.

Exactly. She was making 200k a year here to begin with and excluded any endorsements from companies like Nike. She didn't need to go overseas to play for a Russian team but she chose to and American has to pick up the bill. Even worse is now she's going to get rewarded by stupid book deals or other media stuff.

Earning power for athletes peaks very early and generally falls off a cliff after retirement, so I don't begrudge her for playing in Russia for money in principle, but in her case, it is hypocritical.

[emailking]

I’d rather see a guilty person let free than an innocent person sent to the gulags. Bout already served a lot of his sentencing anyways, and there’s no guarantee that he’s gonna go back to being an arms dealer

Why would Russia want him if he's not of any use to them, then?

It's a matter of national pride for Russia. They think he was wrongly detained.

[Conservatopia]

lol what she's not even hot lmao

[TiltsAreUnderrated]

Considering what Russia wanted for Whelan, I am now slightly relieved that this trade happened, because it could have been even worse: https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-12-09-22/h_8d292a9b6833c8143937f5fefc03237a

An assassin who killed a man in Berlin in broad daylight was to be the price. The US government was on board with this exchange, but Germany refused to extradite him.

[Alben Barkley]

Whelan was not on the table. It was one free American or zero free Americans. Bout is a has-been who was played by Nic Cage in a decent 2000s movie and won't pose any threat today. While I don't like giving up him or any other Russian scum, bringing back an American citizen who was effectively taken hostage by that evil regime is probably worth it.

[Gass3268]

https://twitter.com/davidpwhelan/status/1601219405744328706?s=20&t=_8Sk2CpDj...

[Alben Barkley]

https://twitter.com/davidpwhelan/status/1601219405744328706?s=20&t=_8Sk2CpDj...

Once again, Trump uses unwilling people for his own ends without their consent.

A pattern of behavior he explicitly admitted he engages in routinely on the Access Hollywood tape.

[Santander]

Whelan was not on the table. It was one free American or zero free Americans. Bout is a has-been who was played by Nic Cage in a decent 2000s movie and won't pose any threat today. While I don't like giving up him or any other Russian scum, bringing back an American citizen who was effectively taken hostage by that evil regime is probably worth it.

Lord of War was completely fictional and not based on Bout's life. But he was an inspiration for Cage's Ukrainian-American character in the film. You might be confusing with War Dogs, which is based on real people.

[Holy Unifying Centrist]

I wish I had the energy to be disgusted by all of the intimation about how Griner is somehow worth less as a human being than others, but unfortunately it no longer surprises me.

I actually agree with this. The Whelan or whatever his name whataboutism is crazy. It doesn't matter what American was in Russia; none of them were worth making this trade for. Your safety cannot be guaranteed if you go into a dumphole country like Russia. They will find a way to imprison you and use you as bargaining chips.

[Person Man]

lol what she's not even hot lmao

Goddamnit

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Sports is fixed it was Lebron and Curry whom wanted Brittany free and this is good news for Biden but sports is phony why doesn't Michael Jordan speak and why did George Floyd family receive 33M on the heels of the Kobe Bryant funeral and Breona Taylor family got only 7M it's because sports is looked up to more than anything

I hear nothing but praise from blk community from this trade , just like Bill Cosby released was good news for blk people

[lfromnj]

I wish I had the energy to be disgusted by all of the intimation about how Griner is somehow worth less as a human being than others, but unfortunately it no longer surprises me.

I actually agree with this. Whelan or whatever his name whataboutism is crazy. It doesn't matter what American was in Russia; none of them were worth making this trade for. Your safety cannot be guaranteed if you go into a dumphole country like Russia. They will find a way to imprison you and use you as bargaining chips.

In defense of Whelan who i dislike more than Griner he was arrested in 2018. Griner winter went a week before the invasion and when the US upgraded the travel advisory . Still overall hes worse than Griner unless he actually is an intelligence asset.

[emailking]

We need to bring Whelan home too and Marc Fogel as well. Hopefully there are deals in the works for them. But this was one for one apparently and they'd only take Griner for Bout.

[Ferguson97]

Some of you people just need to admit that you would rather have seen her rot in a Russian prison because she happens to be a Black, relatively butch lesbian.

If you are going to make absurd and outrageous claims like this, you need evidence.

Some of the loudest critics of Biden's move here are notorious racists and homophobes, so why should they be given the benefit of the doubt that their objections are not based on bigotry?

[Torie]

There is another guy similarly situated to Griner still wasting away in a Russian prison with a 14 year sentence. In his case, the pot was medical marijuana for pain due to injuries and operations.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/12/10/marc-fogel-russia-brittney-griner-00073363

If you go to Russia, the risk is real that you will be held hostage over something.

[Holy Unifying Centrist]

Some of you people just need to admit that you would rather have seen her rot in a Russian prison because she happens to be a Black, relatively butch lesbian.

If you are going to make absurd and outrageous claims like this, you need evidence.

Some of the loudest critics of Biden's move here are notorious racists and homophobes, so why should they be given the benefit of the doubt that their objections are not based on bigotry?

Because there are plenty of reasons to criticize this decision? Are we supposed to never criticize anything involving a black woman or a person who is LGBTQ?

[West_Midlander]

Notably, 40% of forum Democrats opposed the trade at this point, in addition to 83% of Independents & Third Partiers and 76% of Republicans (which surprisingly isn't the most opposed group to the deal).

[West_Midlander]

Some of you people just need to admit that you would rather have seen her rot in a Russian prison because she happens to be a Black, relatively butch lesbian.

If you are going to make absurd and outrageous claims like this, you need evidence.

Some of the loudest critics of Biden's move here are notorious racists and homophobes, so why should they be given the benefit of the doubt that their objections are not based on bigotry?

Because there are plenty of reasons to criticize this decision? Are we supposed to never criticize anything involving a black woman or a person who is LGBTQ?

Questioning a poster who's black? You racist. And the OP was from a lesbian, you homophobe.

/s

[Storr]

Unsurprisingly, the Russians want an assassin for Whelan:

https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1601382295981928450?s=20&t=kKfU4q_...