Donald Trump Needs To Keep Brittney Griner’s Name Out of His Mouth

Donald Trump used an appearance on a right-wing podcast this weekend to needlessly trash WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner.

Griner has been detained in Russia since February of this year after she was found entering the country with vape cartridges containing 0.7 grams—about two one-hundredths of an ounce—of cannabis oil. When her trial finally began last month, Griner testified that she “did not intend to smuggle or plan to smuggle” the cartridges into Russia, but that they ended up in her bag by mistake as she packed in a hurry, under stress, while also recovering from COVID-19. While cannabis is banned in Russia, it is legal in Griner’s home state of Arizona, as it is in much of the U.S., and she says she has a note from a doctor recommending it to treat inflammation and pain, which she also says is common for athletes. She’s facing up to 10 years in Russian prison.

But according to Donald Trump, Griner is simply “spoiled” and deserves that sentence. He repeatedly used the phrase “loaded up with drugs” to describe her, which is simply not accurate. The White House has offered a deal to trade Griner and a former Marine named Paul Whelan who has been detained since 2018, in exchange for a Russian arms dealer being held in American custody. Trump, who as President issued pardons for a whole bunch of his criminal friends, sees this as giving a “free card” and indicates that he wouldn’t have made any deal for her release.

Trump also suggests that the White House shouldn’t be helping Griner get her freedom because she “makes a lot of money.” Except Griner does not make a lot of money, which is the entire reason she was in Russia in the first place. WNBA players—even stars like Griner—make a tiny fraction of their male counterparts’ salaries. It’s extremely common for these players to work abroad, where they’re paid far more than at home, during the off-season.

Due to the nature of Trump’s ramblings, it’s hard to say exactly what he meant by this comment. Is he saying that Griner should be able to buy her way out of a Russian prison without needing the U.S. government’s assistance? Or is he saying that her money makes her “spoiled,” so she doesn’t deserve help? Funny how there’s pretty much nothing in the world Trump respects or values more than wealth, except when it’s a Black, gay woman he’s talking about.

It doesn’t really matter what Trump meant; his comments just show how little thought he puts into what he says, even when he’s talking about the lives and well-being of real people, and how very fortunate we are that he’s spreading his vile opinions on podcasts instead of injecting them into American policy.

(image: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

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Vivian Kane

Vivian Kane (she/her) is the Senior News Editor at The Mary Sue, where she's been writing about politics and entertainment (and all the ways in which the two overlap) since the dark days of late 2016. Born in San Francisco and radicalized in Los Angeles, she now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where she gets to put her MFA to use covering the local theatre scene. She is the co-owner of The Pitch, Kansas City’s alt news and culture magazine, alongside her husband, Brock Wilbur, with whom she also shares many cats.

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