Brittany Griner

[bystander]

Griner can't play in the WNBA?

I think the issue was her salary. She can/could have played. She wanted more money.

 

[Monahorns]

I think the issue was her salary. She can/could have played. She wanted more money.

She only has herself to blame then.

 

[mchammer]

She only has herself to blame then.

People who spent their entire adult lives as “victims” will never blame themselves.

 

[Monahorns]

People who spent their entire adult lives as “victims” will never blame themselves.

Good thing I don't have to care anything about what happens to her. Yawn.

 

[bystander]

She only has herself to blame then.

Yes. It was her choice. I certainly don't begrudge her choice. Many Americans go abroad for a better opportunity. It goes back to her choice to break their laws.

 

[mb227]

I think the issue was her salary. She can/could have played. She wanted more money.

I thought this was just one of the off-season foreign leagues like many of the players were doing for the extra money...claiming that WNBA did not pay enough to only play the WNBA season.

 

[Chop]

US players are free to go abroad to make more $$. Just be sure and read those State Dept warnings about the particular country(ies) you're going to be moving to.

 

[nashhorn]

when I spend money on sports (noting the high ticket prices) then I want to see the best.

The cheap ticket prices are great with women’s sports! In fact some soccer games were free. Want to see the best? Then the women’s volleyball team is right there. Now the Regional finals are a bit ^$.

 

[Run Pincher]

The cheap ticket prices are great with women’s sports! In fact some soccer games were free. Want to see the best? Then the women’s volleyball team is right there. Now the Regional finals are a bit ^$.

Quite honestly, you would have to pay me to go to a soccer match, but I do love watching the women's VB team.

 

[bystander]

The cheap ticket prices are great with women’s sports! In fact some soccer games were free. Want to see the best? Then the women’s volleyball team is right there. Now the Regional finals are a bit ^$.

I do want to watch them play sometime. I'm quite aware of how good they are they are very impressive.

Hey, I went to Trinity from 1976-80. They had a great women's tennis team back then. We liked to watch them play. Maybe a little horndog about it but they were crushing that ball back and forth. I was into tennis as I played in high school and loved the pro tour. I admired Chrissie and Evonne Goolagong.

So don't get me wrong about women's sports. I just think there's a huge gap between men and women's basketball and it's noticeable to me.

But Hook 'Em lady horns (am I not supposed to say that?)!

 

[Sangre Naranjada]

If you say "Lady Horns" on the WBB board, you will get a lot of huffing and puffing, righteous indignation, and general blowback from the regulars there. But here you're probably safe.

 

[bystander]

If you say "Lady Horns" on the WBB board, you will get a lot of huffing and puffing, righteous indignation, and general blowback from the regulars there. But here you're probably safe.

I only said it so we know which team I'm referring to.

I could have said "They" but you would have had to think it thru. Maybe it was obvious.

 

[nashhorn]

Quite honestly, you would have to pay me to go to a soccer match

Guess I feel differently because I had two daughters play, one through HS and one in college.
Oh and I loved Ms Goolagong.

 

[Statalyzer]

It goes back to her choice to break their laws.

Maybe. I still don't blindly trust Russia this much. Quite likely there was an agreed-upon understanding regarding foreign stars and they deliberately waited to renege until it would be expedient to them to get leverage and use the next decade of her life as a pawn. The punishment is drastically overfit for the crime and if the incident happened exactly the same to someone with different politics, it's pretty clear the last 5 pages would largely read very differently.

 

[Monahorns]

Maybe. I still don't blindly trust Russia this much. Quite likely there was an agreed-upon understanding regarding foreign stars and they deliberately waited to renege until it would be expedient to them to get leverage and use the next decade of her life as a pawn. The punishment is drastically overfit for the crime and if the incident happened exactly the same to someone with different politics, it's pretty clear the last 5 pages would largely read very differently.

I think drug laws in Russia are stricter than in the US. But at the same time it is in their nature to use things like this for political gain. Russia is an authoritarian dictatorship. The only thing a person should trust them to be is brutal and merciless. Any American citizen going over their to make money has to take that into consideration regardless of their political beliefs. If you step outside the lines you will be hit hard. I think the people in hornfans are simply recognizing that.

 

[mchammer]

Maybe. I still don't blindly trust Russia this much. Quite likely there was an agreed-upon understanding regarding foreign stars and they deliberately waited to renege until it would be expedient to them to get leverage and use the next decade of her life as a pawn. The punishment is drastically overfit for the crime and if the incident happened exactly the same to someone with different politics, it's pretty clear the last 5 pages would largely read very differently.

For one, this is primarily a board to discuss politics and not foreign policy. Second, Griner made comments in the past about imagined injustice in America and then had to suffer real injustice in another country. The irony is too great for any normal human being to ignore . Third, when their side calls you racist and fascist at every opportunity, it’s hard to garner sympathy for her situation. Actions do have consequences - which (like children) is the worst thing that a liberal wants to hear.

 

[Mr. Deez]

Maybe. I still don't blindly trust Russia this much. Quite likely there was an agreed-upon understanding regarding foreign stars and they deliberately waited to renege until it would be expedient to them to get leverage and use the next decade of her life as a pawn. The punishment is drastically overfit for the crime and if the incident happened exactly the same to someone with different politics, it's pretty clear the last 5 pages would largely read very differently.

I think two things can be true at once. I think it's clear that the Russian government is screwing with her and exploiting her for political and diplomatic reasons. However, I also think it's true that she displayed terrible judgment. When you visit another country, you follow their laws, and if you knowingly visit an authoritarian country, you have to be especially careful. Personally, I wouldn't go to a country like Russia or North Korea, but if I did, I'd be straight as a grizzly's dick. Not only would I not break the law, I wouldn't do anything that was anywhere near breaking the law.

 

[Chop]

 

[Chop]

 

[Run Pincher]

I guess she's grinning again now.

WNBA star Brittney Griner released from Russian custody in a high-profile prisoner swap between the U.S. and Moscow

Sounds like a good exchange to me. Why not release an arms dealer supplying terrorists with weapons so they can kill American's.

 

[Chop]

Unfortunately, the Marine, Paul Whelan, was not included in the exchange deal for the international arms dealer Victor Bout.

 

[Chop]

Glad she’s getting out of that pit. She’s fortunate she didn’t have to spend a few years in that gulag labor camp.

 

[2003TexasGrad]

I don't want to hear about white privilege ever again. Paul Whelan has been rotting for 4 years, and the US prioritized a Black lesbian basketball player in exchange for a notorious arms dealer. Good for Brittany but there is nothing to celebrate.

 

[mchammer]

Unfortunately, the Marine, Paul Whelan, was not included in the exchange deal for the international arms dealer Victor Bout.

Okay, I was confused. A marine was released earlier. Apparently Whelan is another marine too.


Griner's return for Bout marks the Biden administration's second prisoner swap with Russia. In April, the U.S. traded Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian smuggler convicted of conspiring to import cocaine, for Trevor Reed. The former U.S. Marine had been imprisoned in Russia for nearly three years.

 

[Chop]

From a layman's perspective, it seems to me that Victor Bout was a really big prize, maybe the #1 arms dealer in the world. I would think we'd be able to get a lot more than a women's basketball player in exchange for Bout. I'd think quite a few ex-Marines and alleged spies (whomever the Russians might be holding) should have been thrown into the exchange.

But... when did I turn into a f@ckin' diplomat? I ain't exactly the State Department type...

 

[Run Pincher]

Not that I care about the NFL, but if I can have a favorite player Parsons is now it.
Cowboys star rips Biden over Brittney Griner release, walks back scathing tweets (msn.com)

 

[Mr. Deez]

The question - if Griner had just been a regular person rather than a woke lesbian, would this deal have been made?

 

[Bobcat]

WELCOME HOME Brittney. Ignore the hate, keep doing the great things you do for others, and enjoy your life….

 

[mchammer]

WELCOME HOME Brittney. Ignore the hate, keep doing the great things you do for others, and enjoy your life….

Don’t break laws when visiting foreign countries - Signed, taxpayer.

 

[Bobcat]

WELCOME HOME Brittney.

Don’t break laws when visiting forgiven countries - Signed, taxpayer.

That didn’t take long….just as I expected. So predictable…. “You just can’t keep the pigs away from the trough”. Agnes Moorehead…. Have a great day!!!