Bringing Brittney Griner home came at a heavy cost, but it was worth it

Fans, friends and allies from across the sports world were overtaken with joy when news of Brittney Griner’s release broke Thursday morning. The U.S. government successfully orchestrated a 1-to-1 prisoner swap with Russia to bring Griner home after she spent months in detainment on drug smuggling charges and later sentenced to nine years in prison.

As it stands now, she’s free, safe and on a flight home. But it didn’t come without a heavy cost considering who she was swapped for. And there’s still plenty of work to be done to bring another detainee home, too.

Let’s dig into the aftermath of all this now that Griner is on her way back to the United States.

Yes. She’s on a plane now, per President Joe Biden. She should be home within the next day or so. Griner’s wife, Cherelle, also spoke during Biden’s news conference, saying her family is “whole” again.

Griner is on her way to San Antonio to be treated at a military medical facility where her wife will meet her.

There was a 1-to-1 prisoner swap between the United States and Russia to get Griner back.

It came at a steep cost as Griner was swapped with Viktor Bout, a Russian war merchant who hadn’t even served half of his 25-year sentence in the United States. He had been on the run from authorities for years before finally being arrested in 2008 in a DEA sting operation.

Oh, he absolutely is. Here’s everything he was accused of, according to the New York Times. It’s heavy stuff.

“Mr. Bout was accused of selling weapons to Al Qaeda, the Taliban and militants in Rwanda. According to several investigations and his U.S. indictment, he and his associates flouted arms embargoes in Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Algeria, where he sold weapons to both the government forces and the rebels fighting them.”

It is no light thing at all that he is now free. But the priority here was bringing Griner home and that is what mattered most in this scenario.

Yes. That would be former Marine Paul Whelan, who was detained by Russian officials back in 2018 on espionage charges.

Both Whelan and the United States have insisted that he is not a spy and that he has been wrongfully charged and detained. However, Russia has insisted on holding onto him because of his charges.

That’s not what happened.

This was reportedly all-or-nothing for Griner — sending Whelan home was never in consideration for Russia. It was either swap Bout for Griner or the situation remains the same, per T.J. Quinn of ESPN.

Whelan’s family was completely understanding of the impossible circumstances here. They were thrilled Griner was brought home, but maintained their concern for Whelan.

It’s not an ideal scenario, which is why some aren’t thrilled about the decision.

No. It was an impossible one. Leaving someone wrongfully detained in another country is not the move under any circumstance. Bringing that person home is always a great thing, whether it’s Griner or Whelan or anyone else.

The fact that Griner is coming home is a huge victory for her family and the country. Cherelle says they are also dedicating themselves to making sure Whelan and other wrongfully detained prisoners are brought home, too.

The work is not finished. There’s still lots to be done and, hopefully, it will be.

But today is still worth celebrating. Welcome home, Brittney Griner. We’re glad you’re finally safe and sound.