Current:Home > ContactBrittney Griner: ‘Head over heels’ for Americans coming home in prisoner swap -Nova Finance Academy
Brittney Griner: ‘Head over heels’ for Americans coming home in prisoner swap
View
Date:2025-04-19 13:11:50
VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France (AP) — Brittney Griner knows only too well the swirling emotions of being involved in a prisoner swap, and she said Thursday night she is “head over heels” that fellow Americans are coming home from Russia.
“Great day. It’s a great day. It’s a great day,” Griner said after the U.S. women beat Belgium 87-74 to clinch a berth in the Paris Games quarterfinals. “We’ll talk more about it later. But head over heels happy for the families right now. Any day that Americans come home, that’s a win. That’s a win.”
The two-time Olympic gold medalist went through her own high-profile prisoner exchange with Russia in 2022 after having been sentenced to nine years in jail for drug possession and smuggling that year.
So Griner was thrilled hearing that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan, both convicted of espionage charges that the U.S. government considered baseless, were coming home.
Griner didn’t share how she learned of the prisoner exchange, but she said she was “definitely emotional” at hearing the news.
“I’m sure it’ll be emotional even more a little bit later on,” Griner said. Yeah. I’m just happy. Like this is a big win. A huge win.”
Griner returned to the U.S. in December 2022. Now 19 months later, she is playing for the national team, which won its 57th straight at the Olympics. Griner scored seven points while helping the Americans continue their pursuit of an eighth straight Olympic gold medal.
Since returning to America, Griner has taken an active role in helping other Americans detained in foreign countries. She has worked with Bring Our Families Home, a campaign formed in 2022 by the family members of American hostages and wrongful detainees held overseas.
She also has spoken twice with President Joe Biden, including once in April to keep the detainees “on the forefront of everyone’s mind.”
Paris Olympics
- Simone Biles, fresh off leading the U.S. women’s gymnastics team back to the gold medal in team competition, returns to the mat.
- Take a look at everything else to watch on Day 7.
- See AP’s top photos from the 2024 Paris Olympics.
- Olympic schedule of events and follow all of AP’s coverage of the Summer Games.
- Which countries are in the lead? Take a look at the Olympic medal tracker.
- Want more? Sign up for our daily Postcards from Paris newsletter.
Griner also has gone through the readjustment to life back in the U.S., something she’s still working through.
“I know they have an amazing group of people that are going to help them out in whatever way they need them and their families,” Griner said of the resources that will be available to Gershkovich and Whelan. “And I’m glad that I was able to go through that program and get reactivated back into everyday life.”
These Olympics are the first time she’s been overseas since her ordeal in Russia. On a train trip from London with her U.S. teammates, Griner felt anxious when she sat in her seat. It was her first time on a train since heading to a Russian prison.
“Walking up to the train I was fine,” Griner told The Associated Press that day. “When I sat down and looked out the window I was like, ‘Damn, last time I was here I was on my way to prison.’ Anxiety started to heighten up. Then I realized I was good, there were no bars. I’m going to win gold.”
Griner turned to Netflix to calm her mind during a simple commute with her U.S. teammates to the Paris Olympics.
“Everything was cool,” she said.
___
AP Sports Writer Teresa Walker contributed.
___
AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
veryGood! (24)
Related
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Horoscopes Today, February 17, 2024
- Adam Sandler Has Plenty of NSFW Jokes While Accepting People's Icon Award at 2024 People's Choice Awards
- Near-record winds over the Northeast push passenger planes to speeds over 800 mph
- Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case
- Lenny Kravitz Details His Inspirational Journey While Accepting Music Icon Award at 2024 PCAs
- Major New England airports to make tens of millions of dollars in improvements
- George Santos sues Jimmy Kimmel, says TV host fooled him into making embarrassing videos
- Average rate on 30
- 'Oppenheimer' wins best picture at 2024 BAFTA Awards, the British equivalent of Oscars
Ranking
- Dick Vitale announces he is cancer free: 'Santa Claus came early'
- New Jersey Devils dress as Sopranos, Philadelphia Flyers as Rocky for Stadium Series game
- Minneapolis' LUSH aims to become nation's first nonprofit LGBTQ+ bar, theater
- Are banks, post offices, UPS and FedEx open on Presidents Day 2024? What to know
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling Reunite at the 2024 BAFTA Film Awards
- Louisiana’s crime-focused special legislative session begins
- FDA approves a drug to treat severe food allergies, including milk, eggs and nuts
Recommendation
Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
Megan Fox Channels Jennifer's Body in Goth-Glam Look at People's Choice Awards 2024
When does 'American Idol' start? 2024 premiere date, time, judges, where to watch Season 22
Bobbi Althoff Makes Her First Red Carpet Appearance Since Divorce at 2024 People's Choice
Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
European Space Agency predicts when dead satellite likely to return to Earth
How a Northwest tribe is escaping a rising ocean
Devastating injuries. Sometimes few consequences. How frequent police crashes wreck lives.