Trump fans need to keep Brittney Griner's name out of their mouths
Trump's GOP adds insult to injury as Brittney Griner pleads guilty in Russia. And Republican trolling highlights America's anti-Black, anti-LGBTQ movement.
UPDATE (Aug. 4, 2022, 11:30 a.m. ET): On Thursday, a Russian court found Brittney Griner guilty of drug smuggling and possession charges, and sentenced her to nine years in prison.
On the morning of July 7, the wrongfully detained WNBA star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty to the charges she is facing in Russia. The most severe charge, equivalent to narcotics trafficking, carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Griner’s four-month-and-counting detainment in Russia has highlighted critical differences between the Russian and American legal systems — and salary imbalances between WNBA and NBA players. Adding insult to injury, her case is now being used by the GOP and its supporters to leverage Black suffering for their political benefit and worse, amusement.
Fox News’s front page features stories on Griner’s wife, Cherelle, with angles focusing on the Biden administration’s failures.
Since Griner’s arrest in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport in February, her plight has become a highly publicized piece of American domestic political discourse. Initially, Griner’s family and team asked for privacy as they waited for the wheels of the State Department to work toward her release. Yet in the past few weeks, as her family and supporters have increased their public pressure on the Biden administration for her freedom, Republicans and conservatives have started to take advantage of the situation.
Fox News’ front page features stories on Griner’s wife, Cherelle, with angles focusing on the Biden administration’s perceived failures. Republicans in Washington, meanwhile, have used her detainment to promote themselves — and their former boss Donald Trump. The GOP members on the House Judiciary Committee tweeted an article on Phoenix Mercury coach Vanessa Nygaard — and then used Nygaard’s comments to boast that Trump would have gotten Brittney released faster.
Rating: 5