US women’s basketball star Brittany Griner was found guilty of intentionally smuggling drugs into Russia and sentenced to nine years in prison. Today we will discuss about Brittney Griner: Political views| Childhood pictures| National anthem
Brittney Griner: Political views| Childhood pictures| National anthem
Brittany Yvette Griner (born October 18, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), currently imprisoned in Russia. He played college basketball for the Baylor Lady Bears in Waco, Texas. He is the only NCAA basketball player to score 2,000 points and block 500 shots. In 2012, the three-time All-American was named AP Player of the Year and Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player. Griner is one of 11 women to receive Olympic gold medals, NCAA Championships, FIBA World Cup gold medals and WNBA championships.
No. 42 – Phoenix Mercury | |
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Position | Center |
League | WNBA |
Personal information | |
Born | October 18, 1990 Houston, Texas, U.S. |
Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (206 cm) |
Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Nimitz (Houston, Texas) |
College | Baylor (2009–2013) |
WNBA draft | 2013 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1st overall |
Selected by the Phoenix Mercury | |
Playing career | 2013–present |
Career history | |
2013–present | Phoenix Mercury |
2013–2014 | Zhejiang Golden Bulls |
2014–present | UMMC Ekaterinburg |
Political views
Memes abound, including one showing Griner’s mugshot, and her being purposefully misquoted by tweets like “leave her where she is.” In this vein, Griner slots neatly into the classic stereotype of black criminals—a trope that has long served the GOP. (Remember George H.W. Bush’s infamous Willie Horton ad from the 1988 election?)
Such Republican and conservative opinions are frankly cruel and wildly unhelpful. But do they matter in the larger scheme of American public discourse? I would argue yes. Because they highlight how the GOP, like Russia, often seeks to capitalize on the suffering of black people and other minorities for political gains. All over Twitter, people have referred to Trump’s maneuver to release rapper A$AP Rocky from Swedish prison as saying that he could have done the same for Griner. They make these claims, even though Sweden and Russia are two fundamentally different political systems, and Griner’s allegations are more serious. Never mind that A$AP Rocky says Trump’s involvement made his release a little more difficult.
As such, Brittany Griner represents a perverted type of Schrödinger’s minority to the GOP and their supporters. They could argue that Trump would have released them on social media because there is no cost to them for doing so. They support black and LGBTQ individuals – as long as they are not in the United States. Griner’s life matters to her because she is not in America.
Childhood pictures

Griner was born in Houston, the daughter of Raymond and Sandra Griner. His father is a former Harris County Sheriff and Marine veteran who served in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969. He has three elder siblings.
Griner attended Nimitz High School in Houston. In addition to lettering in basketball throughout high school, he played varsity volleyball as a freshman. Beginning in his sophomore year, Griner practiced with the boys’ basketball team, and worked with a Nimitz football coach to develop his leg strength in preparation for learning to sink. During her junior season, a YouTube video featuring her dunk had over 6.6 million views, leading to a rendezvous with Shaquille O’Neal.
National anthem
it doesn’t look justice
And as soon as news of Griner’s sentencing became known, Tomi Lahren tweeted that her situation was a “cautionary tale”, while adding that if Griner thought the United States was “oppressive”, she was now finding out. That “seems no justice”, using sarcasm as a grinding tool, she also noted that it was “too bad, too sad”.
9 years without listening to the national anthem
And if that wasn’t enough, Lahren shared her opinion about the matter, saying that at least the basketball star “won’t have to bear our national anthem for 9 whole years!”, and she doubled down on saying that. It was a victory for Griner.