Brittney Griner's wife Cherelle speaks about starting 'journey to heal' after WNBA star's release from Russia
WASHINGTON, DC: Brittney Griner's wife Cherelle has spoken out for the first time on social media, as the WNBA star returned home from a Russian prison after nine months. Griner was detained in February for possession of vape cartridges with cannabis oil and was sentenced to nine years in prison. Her return was made possible through a prisoner swap as President Joe Biden agreed to trade arms dealer Viktor Bout and bring the WNBA star home.
As they begin to recover from the experience, Cherelle thanked everyone who contributed to securing Griner's release in an Instagram post on Sunday, December 11. "Yesterday my heart was made whole thanks to the collective efforts of MANY! I'm humbled by their hearts. To care for another, a stranger to some, a friend to some— is humanity in its purest form," she wrote. "As BG and I start our journey to heal our minds, bodies, and spirits— I wanted to personally say thank you to some of the hands; seen and unseen, that helped make it possible for me to see my wife again!" as per CBS News.
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She named individual politicians, famous people, athletes and human rights organizations that had backed Griner's cause, namely, Congressman Greg Stanton,
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Congressman Colin Allred, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin and Sara Haines among many others.
When the prisoner swap became public, Cherelle told CBS News' Gayle King how she found out the WNBA star was returning home. "She's still on cloud nine," King said, describing their conversation. "She said, 'Gayle ... I'm smiling so much, my face hurts.'" Cherelle also thanked the Biden-Harris administration and the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. "I appreciate each and every one of you! Let's continue to use our hands, voices, platforms, and resources to bring Paul and all Americans home," her post read, referring to Paul Whelan, another American still being held by Russia. "All families deserve to be whole!"
Officials from the White House requested the release of both Griner and Whelan, but claimed that Russia insisted on the return of only Griner. As per CNN, White House Officials held a virtual meeting on Monday, December 12, to discuss the next steps to secure Whelan's release. His sister Elizabeth was also part of the meeting.