The Deal That Freed Brittney Griner
Consider This from NPR
NPR
4.2 • 6.2K Ratings
🗓️ 8 December 2022
⏱️ 15 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In return, the U.S. released convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
NPR's White House Correspondent Franco Ordoñez and Moscow Correspondent Charles Maynes walk through the details of the deal.
And White House National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby explains how the negotiations unfolded.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Good morning folks and it is a good morning. |
| 0:03.8 | These are the words Brittany Griner supporters have been waiting to hear for nearly 10 months. |
| 0:08.7 | She's safe, she's on a plane, she's on her way home. |
| 0:12.8 | At the White House on Thursday, President Biden announced the negotiated release of the |
| 0:17.0 | WNBA star from a Russian penal colony. |
| 0:20.1 | Brittany will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones and she should have been there |
| 0:24.8 | all along. |
| 0:26.0 | Griner was first detained back in February at an airport outside Moscow. |
| 0:30.7 | She was traveling there to play for a professional Russian team as she did every year during the |
| 0:35.5 | WNBA offseason. |
| 0:37.6 | This time Russian authorities found vape cartridges with a small amount of hash oil in her luggage |
| 0:43.7 | and they arrested her. |
| 0:45.1 | The US-Russia relationship was already tense, but a few days later it got much worse when |
| 0:50.2 | Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. |
| 0:53.6 | Today, Biden praised Griner for staying strong throughout her ordeal. |
| 0:58.3 | She endured mistreatment and a show trial in Russia with characteristic grit and incredible |
| 1:05.5 | dignity. |
| 1:06.8 | She represents the best America, the best of Bound America. |
| 1:10.4 | It is across the board, everything about her. |
| 1:12.6 | As the months wore on, many advocates pressured the administration to broker Griner's release. |
| 1:18.7 | Her WNBA coach, fellow players from the Women's and Men's game, but none were louder than |
| 1:24.0 | her wife, Sherelle Griner. |
... |
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