--- title: America Asked the Wrong Questions About Brittney Griner description: Every American locked up abroad is worthy of our advocacy, writes Amanda Knox about the controversy around Brittney Griner's release canonical: https://time.com/6240681/amanda-knox-brittney-griner-release/ author: Amanda Knox article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2022-12-13T20:10:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-19T07:05:27.493Z article:section: Ideas og:title: America Asked the Wrong Questions About Brittney Griner og:description: Every American locked up abroad is worthy of our advocacy, writes Amanda Knox og:url: https://time.com/6240681/amanda-knox-brittney-griner-release/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3859ffb59e250eb/698a38c2db29875c5a2688b0/brittney-griner-2022-02.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: GRINER og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: America Asked the Wrong Questions About Brittney Griner twitter:description: Every American locked up abroad is worthy of our advocacy, writes Amanda Knox twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3859ffb59e250eb/698a38c2db29875c5a2688b0/brittney-griner-2022-02.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 03:27 video:published: 2022-12-08 section: world topics: Brittney Griner release, Russian detention, prisoner swap, wrongful detention, Paul Whelan case, American detainees, Biden administration diplomacy, family reunification genre: news, press statement tones: relieved, grateful, hopeful, solemn, determined emotions: relief (high), gratitude (high), hope (medium), sadness (medium), determination (medium) sentiment: positive audience: news readers, US politics followers, sports fans, families of detainees, human rights advocates people: Joe Biden, Brittney Griner, Cherelle Griner, Paul Whelan, Trevor Reed organizations: White House, Russian government, WNBA content_suitability: politics [00:00-03:27]; war [00:00-02:04]; tragedy [01:00-02:18] transcript_source: automatic transcription transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Amanda Knox: America Asked the Wrong Questions About Brittney Griner > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. 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A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=9edcc579-f18b-4dda-bedc-9d850119ab97&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: What to Know About Brittney Griner's Release from a Russian Penal Colony [Watch (HLS stream): What to Know About Brittney Griner's Release from a Russian Penal Colony](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/L7lrkEL3.m3u8) (3:27)  _Published 2022-12-08. In one of the most surprising and uplifting days of the Biden presidency, Griner is on her way home for the holidays, following a prisoner swap that saw her released in exchange for the notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary Biden speaks in the Oval Office after Brittney Griner's release from Russian detention, describing her as safe and on her way home after months of what he calls unjust detention. He thanks the administration staff who worked on the negotiations and says the public's advocacy meant a lot to her family. Griner's wife, Cherelle, then speaks with gratitude and commits to continuing work to bring home other Americans, including Paul Whelan. ## Key points - Biden says he spoke with Brittney Griner in the Oval Office with her wife, Cheryl, and that she is safe and on a plane home. (00:00) - Biden says Griner was unjustly detained in Russia and held under intolerable circumstances for months. (00:00) - Biden credits painstaking and intense negotiations by his administration's public servants for securing her release. (00:30) - Biden says Griner wrote to him in July and did not ask for special treatment, even though the administration worked on her release from day one. (01:00) - Biden says Griner asked him not to forget about her and the other American detainees and to bring them home. (01:31) - Biden says Russia is treating Paul Whelan's case differently than Griner's, and that Whelan's release has not yet been secured. (01:53) - Griner's wife, Cherelle, says the nine months have been among the darkest moments of her life and expresses gratitude to the Biden administration. (02:18) - Cherelle says she and Griner will remain committed to getting every American home, including Paul Whelan, whose family is in their hearts. (02:52) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:30] Griner safe and on way home. Biden announces that Griner is safe, on a plane, and heading home after months of unjust detention in Russia. - [00:30 to 01:00] Credit to negotiators and public support. Biden thanks administration officials for the intense negotiations and acknowledges public advocacy for Griner's release. - [01:00 to 01:53] Griner's request and Trevor Reed release. Biden describes Griner's July letter asking that other detainees not be forgotten and notes the earlier release of Trevor Reed. - [01:53 to 02:04] Paul Whelan's continued detention. Biden says Russia is treating Paul Whelan's case differently and that the administration will not give up on securing his release. - [02:04 to 02:18] Biden welcomes Griner and introduces Cherelle. Biden welcomes Griner home and invites Cherelle to speak. - [02:18 to 03:27] Cherelle's gratitude and call to bring Americans home. Cherelle thanks the administration, says her family is whole while others are not, and pledges continued work to bring Americans home. ## Key quotes - [00:00] Joe Biden: "She's safe. She's on a plane. She's on her way home." - [01:31] Joe Biden: "Please do all you can to bring us home" - [01:53] Joe Biden: "Sadly, for totally illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul's case differently than Brittany's." - [02:18] Cherelle: "So over the last nine months, you all have been so privy to one of the darkest moments of my life." - [02:52] Cherelle: "BG and I will remain committed to the work of getting every American home, including Paul" ## Questions this video answers - Has Brittney Griner been released from Russian detention? [00:00] - How did the administration secure Griner's release? [00:30] - What did Griner ask the president to do for other American detainees? [01:31] - Why is Paul Whelan's case being treated differently according to Biden? [01:53] - What commitment did Cherelle make after Griner's return? [02:52] ## Content suitability - politics [00:00-03:27]: Presidential remarks on a diplomatic negotiation and prisoner exchange. - war [00:00-02:04]: References to Russian detention and international prisoner negotiations tied to the Russia context. - tragedy [01:00-02:18]: Descriptions of months of wrongful detention, trauma, and a family's dark period. by [Amanda Knox](https://time.com/author/amanda-knox/) ## Amanda Knox Dec 13, 2022 8:10 PM UTC In one of the most surprising and uplifting days of the Biden presidency, Griner is on her way home for the holidays, following a prisoner swap that saw her released in exchange for the notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. by [Amanda Knox](https://time.com/author/amanda-knox/) ## Amanda Knox Dec 13, 2022 8:10 PM UTC [Brittney Griner](https://time.com/6239661/brittney-griner-released-russian-custody/) is finally home after ten months of captivity in Russia. I’d hoped this would be a moment for uncontroversial celebration. After all, the American basketball star, who had been convicted of absurd drug trafficking charges for possession of vape cartridges in her luggage, and sentenced to nearly ten years in prison, was clearly being used by Putin as a political pawn. In May, the U.S. State Department [declared her wrongfully detained](https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-sports-business-phoenix-mercury-united-states-b6aaaeee14b825bd247e2d853a9d708c). And yet, the news of her release has led some to question whether she is worthy of freedom. It’s giving me flashbacks. Griner was released [in exchange for Viktor Bout](https://time.com/6240082/truth-about-viktor-bout/), the notorious arms dealer known as the Merchant of Death. It’s this, and the failure to release another American, [former Marine Paul Whelan](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/08/world/europe/paul-whelan-russia-prison-griner.html), who’s been imprisoned in Russia for nearly four years, that has complicated what would otherwise be a simple win for justice. The crudest version of this reaction comes from the likes of Donald Trump Jr., who [tweeted](https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1600845561644474368): “No one cuts better deals than Biden. We get an awful America hating WNBA player, while Russia gets an INTERNATIONAL ARMS DEALER!!! The adults are back!” But if you strip away the demagoguery and insults, there’s a point worth addressing there. Viktor Bout helped fuel some of the bloodiest conflicts of the 1990s, many in Africa, selling millions of dollars worth of weapons from the Soviet Union stockpiles. He was caught in 2011 through a sting operation where he was lured into attempting to sell anti-aircraft missiles to the Colombian militant group, the FARC, for use against American forces. For this, [he was convicted of conspiring to kill Americans](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/merchant-of-death-arms-dealer-now-part-of-a-deal-himself/2022/12/08/5409cfa8-770a-11ed-a199-927b334b939f%5Fstory.html) and aiding a terrorist organization and sentenced to 25 years in prison. He’s a serious criminal who has caused serious suffering around the world, and it was, dare I say, a good thing that he was incarcerated. It’s very possible that the arrest and conviction of Griner on trumped up drug charges was done specifically with an aim to create leverage to get Bout released. They are not offenders of equal measure by any sane standard. Trump Jr. is right about that. But does it matter? Can you put a price on innocence? Take my story for instance. The U.S. State department never declared me wrongfully detained when I was locked up in Italy, though from day one there was no reliable evidence that I had committed any crime at all, and there was copious evidence against Meredith Kercher’s actual killer, Rudy Guede. Over the course of my four years of imprisonment, as many people around the world realized how badly I’d been railroaded, the official U.S. position remained that Italy was a sovereign nation with a legitimate justice system. And believe me, I wish Hillary Clinton would have pulled some strings to get a team of Navy Seals to helicopter me to freedom, or offer a high value prisoner exchange, but despite accusations by Italian authorities of American meddling, the U.S. government couldn’t help me. There was a measurable value to my innocence, a price to my freedom, but, as I wrote in this essay for [_New Thinking_](https://www.new-thinking.online/sports/what-about-our-own-brittney-griners), the financial and diplomatic ties between the U.S. and Italy vastly outweighed the value of one wrongfully imprisoned nobody. There is much less to lose in diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Russia, by contrast, especially with the Russo-Ukrainian war in the background. After I was acquitted in 2011, I was retried and reconvicted in absentia for the same crime and sentenced to 28.5 years. I had to appeal yet again while facing potential extradition. I had largely given up hope of a sane outcome at this point. The truth didn’t seem to matter. My best realistic hope was that when my appeal failed, I could beg the U.S. government to advocate for me to be able to serve out that unjust sentence in the U.S., rather than Italy, to lessen the burden on my family. My lawyers advised me not to go out in public—no bars, no karaoke, no dancing, no fun—be invisible and perfect. If you don’t want to be extradited, you need to appear worthy of U.S. intervention. I remember thinking, as a deep chasm opened up in my chest, _isn’t it enough that I’m innocent?_ The truth was—no. To the perspective of the government, my innocence was a value on a spreadsheet, a small one, to be weighed against many other variables. The same is true for Brittany Griner and Paul Whelan. Their innocence isn’t enough. Their freedom has measurable value to our government, even for PR reasons. Whelan is an interesting contrast to Griner. Not a celebrated athlete accused of drug possession, but a former marine who deployed twice to Iraq, now accused of espionage. That tidbit alone probably [gets the MAGA crowd riled up](https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1600858803313983489) that “America-hating” Griner was freed instead of Whelan, who supported Trump and who’s been locked up for four years. But Whelan was also court-martialed by the Marines in 2008 for charges of larceny, dereliction of duty, and passing bad checks. In fact, that tarnished record would likely have prevented him from working as a spy, [according to former CIA officials](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/03/world/europe/us-spy-suspect-whelan-russia.html). In light of this, Whelan may be seen as a far less sympathetic figure than Griner, and on the chessboard of global politics, I can see why securing his release would be lower priority than that of a celebrated athlete. Justice is often a popularity contest. But from my perspective, Whelan is no less deserving of freedom than Griner. From a moral standpoint, their innocence is all that matters. And according to Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, U.S. diplomats made “ceaseless” but ultimately futile efforts to include Whelan in the prisoner exchange for Viktor Bout. Even Whelan’s family understands that. The _New York Times_ [quoted Whelan’s brother, David](https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/12/08/world/brittney-griner-russia-ukraine-news#brittney-griner-russia), saying that “The Biden administration made the right decision to bring Ms. Griner home, and to make the deal that was possible, rather than waiting for one that wasn’t going to happen.” Both Whelan and Griner were supported by the [Bring Our Families Home campaign](https://www.bringourfamilieshome.org/), which advocates for Americans locked up abroad. According to them, there are “over 64 innocent Americans being held hostage or wrongfully detained overseas. They are being held largely because they are Americans_—_not for any other reason.” I don’t have any answers to the hard political calculus of who gets justice and who doesn’t when the fates of individuals get enmeshed with the machinations of states. But I do know that certainly everyone who is innocent deserves freedom, both abroad and at home, and that there are by conservative estimates [as many as 20,000 innocent people locked up in the U.S](https://innocenceproject.org/how-many-innocent-people-are-in-prison/). Beyond that, even the guilty who are not a danger to society deserve freedom (and mandated help to become better citizens—something more effective than prison time). We can acknowledge harsh realities of resources, time, and political capital without having to argue over the value of the life of one of our citizens. Every American locked up abroad is worthy of our advocacy. And it is a cause for celebration that Brittney Griner is coming home. We should also recognize the trauma of this experience for her. I wouldn’t be surprised if she felt some kind of survivor’s guilt, that she got freed, compared to Paul Whelan, who is equally innocent. It’s something all exonerees feel. I feel it. Between me and Meredith, I’m the lucky one who wasn’t murdered. Compared to my fellow exonerees, many of them men wrongfully imprisoned for decades, I’m lucky to have been freed after four. The last thing Brittney Griner needs as we welcome her back home is to be judged worthy or not of her freedom. The attitude of the innocence movement is a good mantra here: _Another innocent person is free—hallelujah, full stop. 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