Brittney Griner: WNBA star arrives at US hospital after being released by Russia in prisoner swap

The WNBA star was detained at a Russian airport in February

Brittney Griner back on US soil after spending 294 days in Russian prison

Brittney Griner has returned to US soil for the first time in 10 months after she was released from Russian custody in a prisoner swap with “Merchant of Death” Viktor Bout.

The WNBA star arrived at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio early on 9 December for examination and any additional medical treatment.

Footage showed Ms Griner and Bout being exchanged on the tarmac of a runway in the United Arab Emirates on 8 December following weeks of negotiations between Washington DC and Moscow.

The deal failed to include US Marine Paul Whelan, who has been detained in Russia for the last four years. Mr Whelan told CNN he was “greatly disappointed” to learn he was not part of the prisoner swap, saying: “I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here.”

President Joe Biden insisted that “we’ve not forgotten about Paul Whelan” and vowed to “never give up” securing his release, as the swap divided opinion across the country. The White House was also forced to deny claims made by Saudi Arabia and the UAE that Mohammed bin Salman negotiated the deal.

Key points

• Brittney Griner lands on US soil
• White House denies claims MBS negotiated swap
• Trump turned down offer to release Whelan years ago, says Bolton
• Paul Whelan says he’s ‘disappointed’ the Biden administration didn’t do more to secure his release
• President ‘guarantees’ to keep negotiating for detained marine’s release

[8 December 2022 18:00 · Johanna Chisholm]

Watch: President Joe Biden’s full remarks on Brittney Griner’s release

[8 December 2022 17:55 · Johanna Chisholm]

NFL player Micah Parsons issues apology for tweeting ‘out of emotion’ after criticizing Biden over Paul Whelan

Micah Parsons, an NFL player with the Dallas Cowboys, issued a swift apology on Twitter after he “tweeted out of emotion” for his family when he wrote a post earlier on Thursday about his dismay that former marine and detained American Paul Whelan was not included with the prisoner exchange that saw WNBA star Brittney Griner return home for an international arms dealer.

“Wait nah!! We left a marine?!! Hell nah,” tweeted the outside linebacker, a comment that apparently led to immediate pushback as he followed up that message with another clarifying note shortly after.

Less than two hours after firing off those initial tweets, Mr Parsons issued a more explicit apology, writing: “Just spoke to some people that I respect and trust. I should have been more educated on the topic and not tweeted out of emotion for my family and other who have served. For that I apologize.”

He added that he was “extremely happy” that Ms Griner was home with her family. “I am not too prideful to admit when I’ve made a mistake.”