They did it. They finally did it. The United States government has successfully negotiated a prisoner swap with the Kremlin that will finally see the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner from a Russian penitentiary. This is long overdue, no doubt, but the most important thing right now is that Griner is now heading home.
NBA superstars Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies and Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics were some of the first personalities from around the league to react to the surprising yet very welcome news from Thursday:
BG Free ๐
โ Ja Morant (@JaMorant) December 8, 2022
๐๐ฝ๐๐ฝ๐๐ฝ https://t.co/EFj6XAknlE
โ Jayson Tatum (@jaytatum0) December 8, 2022
Other NBA stars such as Trae Young and Kyrie Irving also caught wind of the news and they too took to Twitter to share their delight in this development:
FREED BG๐๐ฝ
โ Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) December 8, 2022
Welcome Home BG!
Thank you for exemplifying what a true Warrior spirit looks like. Youโre forever loved by so many unconditionally. ๐ค๐พโพ
โ Hรฉlร (@KyrieIrving) December 8, 2022
!!!!!! https://t.co/zFJ1DMxp5t
โ Bradley Beal (@RealDealBeal23) December 8, 2022
The Phoenix Suns, who obviously hold close ties with Griner's WNBA team, the Phoenix Mercury, also came out with a statement regarding her release. Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton were also more than happy to welcome Brittney home:
๐๐พ https://t.co/KxUhWq3Fdc
โ Chris Paul (@CP3) December 8, 2022
๐๐๐ฟ https://t.co/x2mgaOxtDe
โ Deandre Ayton (@DeandreAyton) December 8, 2022
The general sentiment from the players revolves around gratefulness. Finally, after nearly three hundred days in prison, Brittney Griner's nightmare has come to an end. The feeling of gratitude also extended to NBA personalities that are no longer in the league:
BG is coming home! ๐๐พ Amazing news. Much love @Brittneygriner #WeAreBG https://t.co/CcfzOde3yn
โ Carmelo Anthony (@carmeloanthony) December 8, 2022
Welcome home BG!! ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ฟ
โ DeMarcus Cousins (@boogiecousins) December 8, 2022
BG is FREE โผ๏ธ
โ ๐ Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) December 8, 2022
According to reports, the Russian government agreed to a prisoner swap for Griner that will see jailed Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, aka โThe Merchant of Death,โ released from incarceration. It's an undeniably steep price to pay, but at this point, we're all just happy to see Griner finally getting released.