White House official reveals Brittney Griner’s first words on US-bound plane after prisoner swap

‘I have been in prison for 10 months now listening to Russian. I want to talk’

After 10 months in Russian custody, Brittney Griner just wanted to talk.

When she finally stepped on a US-bound plane following a historic prisoner exchange on a tarmac in Abu Dhabi, the newly freed WNBA star was escorted by Roger Carstens, the Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, who prepared her return to US soil.

“When she finally got onto the US plane, I said: ‘Brittney, you must have been through a lot over the last 10 months. Here’s your seat. Please feel free to decompress. We will give you your space,’” he told CNN’s State of the Union on 11 December, three days after US officials traded Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for Ms Griner, who was convicted on drug charges for possession of a cannabis vape.

“She said, ‘Oh, no, I have been in prison for 10 months now listening to Russian,’” he recalled her saying. “I want to talk. But, first of all, who are these guys?’”

Ms Griner greeted everyone on the plane, “looked them in the eye, shook their hands, asked about them, got their names” and “made a personal connection with them” throughout the 18-hour flight, during which she talked with Mr Carstens and the crew “about everything under the sun,” he said.

“I was left with the impression that this is an intelligent, passionate, compassionate, humble, interesting person,” he said. “A patriotic person, but, above all, authentic. I hate the fact that I had to meet her in this manner, but I actually felt blessed having had a chance to get to know her.”

He demurred when asked what they talked about.

“I’d hate to steal her thunder,” he said, “as it’s her story to tell.”

Mr Carstens’s description of the events marks the first publicly detailed account of Ms Griner’s release, 10 months after the two-time Olympic gold medalist, Baylor University All-American and Phoenix Mercury basketball star was arrested at Sheremetyevo International Airport in February.

She had been sentenced to nine years in prison. Last month, her attorneys said she was to be transferred to a penal colony.

An agreement between Moscow and President Joe Biden and administration officials, under pressure to secure her release amid Russia’s assault in Ukraine, followed months of internal debate and failed efforts to secure the release of detained former US Marine Paul Whelan in addition to Ms Griner.

Russian media showed footage of Ms Griner walking off a Russian plane in Abu Dhabi, where two Russians greeted Mr Bout with a hug. Mr Carstens told CNN he introduced himself as officials prepared to transfer Ms Griner to the US-bound plane.

“I’m with the US Department of State. On behalf of the President of the United States Joe Biden and Secretary of State Tony Blinken, I’m here to take you home,” he remembered telling her.

“At that moment, every person finally starts to realise it’s going to happen, it’s setting in – certainly Brittney felt that way,” he said. “At that point, we have to go through a little more of the choreography to get her off the plane. It usually takes about three minutes.”

Mr Griner was transported to Houston for a medical evaluation, but Mr Carstens said she was otherwise “full of energy” and “looked fantastic.”

Mr Carstens said US efforts to secure the release of Mr Whelan, who was accused of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020, are ongoing.

“We usually have to keep our cards close to our chest,” he told CNN. “We have to adapt at times. But here’s the thing I’d like to leave you with: We have an ongoing, well, open dialogue with the Russians. And we have the commitment of this president and my office, certainly, to bring Paul Whelan home.”