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

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

I don’t know whether I support this deal on net or not; I can see reasonable arguments on both sides.

But my big question would be: why did it take so long?  It seems like this deal specifically was proposed within days of Griner being arrested.  If we’re willing to take this sort of deal, why not take it before she has to go through almost a year of such horrible treatment? What exactly was the sticking point in negotiations that required them to take nine months?

[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.