After release from Russian custody, focus is on providing Brittney Griner and her family additional support, officials say | CNN

2ºNigel Findlater Ten years hard labor for under a gram of CBD oil is an absurd sentence even by Russian law. It was political retaliation for Ukraine. She was a pawn.
I am pretty sure if it was your friend or family you would have a very different opinion.
And so we should just leave all American prisoners where they are, right? Disgusting.
I am glad for her and her family. I hope Biden can get the others out of there too.
And it was determined that Bout was no longer the threat he once was. Plus, if he leaves Russia he is probably going right back to prison.

3ºJanice Beicker Wright futurerama had an episode that covered this years ago. Zoiberg ate the earthflag and everyone got upset and sued him . His lawyer was a multiamputee multi war vet. In his arguments, he stated how he lost body parts in the wars he fought for earth. And he stated in the end. He fought in those wars not for the flag. But for zoiburgs right to do what ever he wants. Even to eat the flag. The whole world was so moved, even president head of Nixon, that everyone wanted zoiberg to eat the flag. And they cheated him on.

The whole thing was in response to Kaepernick taking a knee during the pledge of Allegiance. War vets didn’t fight for the flag. They fought for what the flag represents. Your rights!!!!! Freedom of speech. Kaepernick was expressing his dislike for how other black men and women were treated still today. He wasn’t anti American. But America still has racism and he sees it. Yes he is living the American dream as a rich black man. But many he knows are not. Let’s not get deep into that conversation. But freedom of speech just means the government won’t interfere unless he’s harming people for his speech. Or in his case taking a knee. Which says volumes. But it doesn’t go without consequences from the public.

But veterans have fought and died so he and anyone can have the right to say what they want and the government can’t hurt them.

4ºChris Ramey again you are making assumptions on something you have absolutely NO inside knowledge of. You are not her so you cannot definitively say what she remembered or what she forgot she had.

Being an ambassador of something is to show it in light of all angles. So far what you have done here is not that but rather a narrow view that supports division and animosity. Ambassadors are supposed to bring sides together. Again something your words here do not support.

I don't call my views as being an ambassador I view them as being open to the unique circumstances of the people involved. Some I may agree with and some I may not. My comments have been about removing yourself from your entrenched views and even though we may not have all the information to form an opinion, keeping an open mind that such information does exist and without that full knowledge to reserve your opinion. You know the age old saying? Everyone has one.

Being an ambassador should be setting those opinions aside to find common ground that can be built upon to get parties to let loose of their rigid mindset and help foster peace. None of your words here today have done any of that. Instead you offer divisiveness because someone holds opinions you don't agree with, did something you have probably done many times, do not take that in the literal sense as in saying you vape, but that you too have forgotten something. You can say you have never but that is almost certainly false, we all do.

So with that being said, I have to disagree with your self described identity of being a "ambassador" and since you are clearly unable to remove your own disdain for those that hold different opinions than you, there really isn't anything further to discuss with you.

5ºRick Shellhammer yeah, I know. America….I also know that while it’s a good thing when we bring any American home, too bad Paul Whelan isn’t free to do anything but rot in a filthy cell.

And too bad the southern border is wide open, yet the administration says it isn’t. Too bad we have cashless bail and skyrocketing crime all across America. Too bad the federal government is bankrupting our country, handing out trillions of dollars like a drunken banker in a Monopoly game, leading to unchecked inflation and record national debt.

Too bad America is seen as weak given our current weak leadership and pathetic policies that embolden our enemies and alienate our Allies.Too bad the IRS is being armed and weaponized, expanding by 87k new agents (not to mention the new monitoring of cashless transactions of merely $600 and up). Too bad the FBI conspired with big tech & social media to hush conservatives and swing the 2020 election.

Too bad some of the leaders at the highest level can’t define a woman, yet they chose to have a gay female black athlete released by Russia instead of a decorated Marine. Yes, doing so better aligns with their fake woke agenda.

I love my country. I also love my friends and family who gave their last full measure of devotion for her. Like you, I often exclaim America! Yet if our country continues down the path we are on, it will mean nothing to chant America, for the America we know will be no more.

6ºWren Morgan So why didn't I hear about the AL-Quade fighters when we lost the 13 soldiers in afghan?-All we heard was how bad a withdraw Biden did. And that was why the soldiers died. What did people tell those families?- OH yes all Biden's fault. Not a word about the rotten trump/pompeo deal. And why wasn't the deal without the AFGHAN gov talked about as wrong. If they had been included then Pres Biden probably could have stayed longer and got more Americans and Afghan people out.- That could have resulted in the reason Pres Biden had to leave people behind. What were they told, it was all because Pres Biden left you behind---JUST SO WRING. This is all just Political. SO you think this is worst because REP have gotten away with blaming Biden for everything. Next you will say that Obama or Biden made trump take the DOCUMENTS. And that they made trump scheme and make fake electors to replaced the selected electors.---I would say "SORRY for your LOST." But I would not make it one American over another. what did trump tell the families of the lost soldiers." It was all BIDEN's fault" He never takes responsible for anything that does not work. Biden did not blame trump for his rotten deal in the deaths of our soldiers. Biden is a better leader with a better character. He said It was his decision to free her in the exchange.

7ºChris Ramey I feel the need to point out yet again your failed attempt at your self described identity as an “Ambassador”. A true ambassador would speak in facts, to see the whole picture. Yes, she admitted to packing vape cartridges, she also stated that she had a short period of time for packing and was recovering from COVID as she was packing for a 13 hr flight from AZ to Russia. What she was basically saying was, yes she packed them, she was in a hurry, and was recovering from illness. I think the words she actually used was “frantically packing” and had to pack “quickly and under immense stress”.



You also fail to mention and take into account that she was in a country she didn’t speak the language of and made claims that the interpreter failed to adequately explain what was going on. We have heard this claim from not just her but many Americans that have faced similar situations in many other countries. She also claims she was not told of her rights, nor was she provided with legal representation at the time of her arrest, another claim echoed by many others in similar situations outside of our country, and I’m sure others have made of ours. You also fail to mention Bout has been on Putin’s wish list to get back, nor do you mention how this could absolutely be an opportunity that presented itself to Russia, that Griner more than likely had no knowledge of the huge gift her arrest would present to Putin in achieving this goal. Why would she? She had no clue the pawn she was about to become. But sure, lets just reduce this to “she didn’t stand for the anthem” and/or she protested against something I support, cause either you don’t have the knowledge of the facts of the case or you are the opposite of an ambassador and are really a propagandist.



Doesn’t matter what you buy, you were not a party that was involved in any of it. You weren’t there when she was packing, you most certainly were not there when she was taken into custody, and your knowledge is as everyone else’s what you have read and clearly are not open to anything more than that. You have already decided and entrenched yourself in your belief and leave no room for any version of events except your limited knowledge or belief. Not just in your mind but your words, have you become the accuser, the prosecutor and the judge of a situation again, you are just reading about.

You ignore the sentiment of the very people that are involved and were in that situation for your limited opinion at best, to spread further divisiveness over a miniscule topic for one with real life consequences. It would do a lot of people that hold views like yours that the standard that you judge others will one day be used to judge you.

8ºKourtney Lynn nope they should be charged as well. Oh she can protest that way but her actions have consequences and now shes paying for and rightly so. Yet here she is back in a country that supposedly hates her hmmm why is that she can give anywhere she chooses yet she comes back to the states must not be that bad then. I never said that black people haven't had a bad run. But they di support anti semitism which is just as bad a racism. And before you say they don't look at the comments pertaining to kyrie irving and his support of an anti semitic movie. Guess p.o.c dont mean anything unless they need their support

9ºIt’s illegal to possess, sell or grow cannabis in Russia. The country has the highest number of people incarcerated for drug offences in Europe (per capita), and most were imprisoned under the notorious Article 228. However, there are hints that the law may change – with the country exploring the option of importing cannabis for medical research.

No one should have sympathy for Griner being caught and put in prison in Russia. Those who are saying that Russia should not have punished Griner for violating Russia's Cannabis laws are the same criminally minded narcissists that Putin was talking about trying to influence Russian laws.

10ºStephen Eaton That’s unfortunate but really doesn’t have anything to do with her release. Perhaps you should take the attitude of Paul Whelan’s brother who said, “I think that what President Biden did was to take care of an American who was in peril and bring home the American that he could bring home.
Whelan also added that "all Americans should be happy" Griner has been freed from wrongful detention, congratulating the WNBA player and her family on her release.“ He also said,
“My brother pleaded from his prison for President Trump to tweet about him during President Trump's term in office, and President Trump didn't, And now to talk about Paul at all, it's really offensive. The U.S. government was not engaged in Paul's case for the first two years, and not all of that is President Trump's fault.” https://www.foxnews.com/m...riner-bout-swap