Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons was active on Twitter Thursday morning after WNBA star Brittney Griner was released after being detained for months in Russia.
After Griner was sent back to the United States in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout – known by some as the “Merchant of Death” – Parsons took to Twitter to express his apparent displeasure about the deal.
“Wait nah!! We left a marine?!! Hell nah,” Parsons wrote in response to a report that the swap did not include Marine Paul Whelan, who has been in Russian custody for four years.
President Joe Biden sent out a message from his @POTUS Twitter account with a picture of him speaking with Griner, captioned: “Moments ago I spoke with Brittney Griner. She is safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way home.”
Parsons didn’t seem to be enthused by the messaging.
“We still not voting for you!” Parsons wrote in a quote tweet of Biden’s message.
The exchange prompted many online to discuss Parsons’ political views. The 23-year-old went into damage control mode, deleting his original response to Biden then sending out another message not long after.
“My last tweet was no shot at Brittney Griner. I’m super happy she’s back home as she should be,” Parsons wrote. “I just have family who have served and it’s crazy to me the President wouldn’t bring him home too. I’m the furthest thing from a Trump supporter but I’m not a fan of Biden either.”
He then walked back his statements even further.
“Just spoke to some people that I respect and trust. I should have been more educated on the topic and not tweeted out of emotion for my family and other who have served,” Parsons wrote. “For that I apologize. Also if what I’m told about the attempts to bring Ret Marine Paul Whelan home are true then the best outcome was accomplished. I pray Mr. Whelan comes home but am extremely happy for Brittney and her family. I am not too prideful to admit when I’ve made a mistake.”
then the best outcome was accomplished. I pray Mr. Whelan comes home but am extremely happy for Brittney and her family. I am not too prideful to admit when I’ve made a mistake.
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) December 8, 2022
Parsons is in the middle of a likely Defensive Player of the Year season for the Cowboys, who are 9-3 and well positioned for a playoff run. Parsons has 12 sacks and three forced fumbles and Dallas ranks No. 1 in Football Outsiders’ defensive DVOA statistic.
The linebacker was not the only notable sports figure to criticize the U.S. government for the swap. Former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason, who hosts “Boomer & Gio” on WFAN, responded to Parsons’ original tweet while on air Thursday and shared a similar sentiment.
“I’m telling you, more people feel that way than don’t,” Esiason said. “I can tell you that right now. I know that we’re all happy that Brittney’s home like we said earlier on. But when you think about the magnitude of what we traded to get back a WNBA professional athlete and left a Marine sitting there whose family has been trying for years to get him out of there with nothing, nothing from the U.S. government.
“I kinda feel like the Russians basically were using her to get this guy out. It’s not an even swap – it’s not. We all know what happened to Brittney should have never happened. But man, we look so pathetic. And listening to our President talk about this is such a pathetic feeling. I want to be happy, but I can’t be.”