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UConn Women's BasketballStar Page Bookers speaks to the increasing number of athletes calling on the Biden administration to take Brittney Griner home. Added.
Bookers starred in ESPN's "NBA Today" and sent a message to President Joe Biden. Derived from cannabis through Moscow Airport. Since then she has been detained.
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Connecticut Huskies Guard Page Bookers has a "We Are BG" basketball Brit I'm watching wearing a shirt with Nigriner graphics, following the WNBA game between Seattle Storm and Connecticut Sun on June 17, 2022 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Ancasville, Connecticut. increase. The sun defeated storms 82-71. ( Erica Denhof / Icon Sports Wire via Getty Images)
"President Biden, Government, and Those with Sufficient Power" Message to To help Brittney Griner go home. I think it's a long way from her home. She's an American. She's a hero. She's a sister of WNBA. , A family all over the United States. It takes time to get her home. "
Greener sent a letter to the White House on Monday, when Biden and the rest of his administration "remember me and other American detainees" in Russia. I did it.
Greener's letter was passed to the White House through her representative. Most of the content remained private, but her representative shared some excerpts.
Page Boukers, Connecticut Husky # 5, Minnesota South Carolina Gamecock in the 2022 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Championship Game at Target Center on April 3, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Andy Lyons / Getty Images)
"... When I'm sitting here in a Russian prison, my thoughts alone protect my wife and family. Without friends, Olympic jerseys, and other achievements, I'm afraid I'll be here forever, "WNBA superstars write.
"On July 4, our family usually honors the service of those who fought for our freedom, including our father, a veteran of the Vietnam War. This year with me It's a completely different thing. "
Britney Greener's coach on Russia's detention:" If it was Lebron, he would be at home, yes. "
Greener begged Vietnam to use the president's authority to ensure her return. She was arrested in February for bringing an arc cartridge containing cannabis-derived oil to Moscow Airport.
"Do everything you can to bring us home. I voted for the first time in 2020 and voted for you. I believe in you. Recovery. Can help. " "I miss my wife. I miss my family. I miss my teammates. I die knowing that they are suffering so much now. I am grateful for whatever you can do to get home now."
White House spokesman Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed at a press conference on Tuesday that the president had read the letter, but refused to comment on whether Biden had plans to speak directly with Grinner's family.
WNBA basketball superstar Brittney Griner July 1, 2022, Khimki Court on the outskirts of Moscow. -Olympic gold medalist and two-time WNBA champion Greener was detained at Moscow Airport in February for bringing in a luggage arc cartridge containing hemp oil that could carry ten. -Year prison sentence. (KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP via Getty Images)
"This is the president's priority," she said. "As we have heard before, he believes that any American citizen detained abroad, or detained or held hostage abroad, needs to be taken home safely. We will use every possible tool to make that happen. Again, this is the president's priority. "
" The president is Mrs. Greener and her family. I can't share anything about how to communicate with him, "she added later. "I can only confirm that he has read the letter, and he prioritizes this."
Jean-Pierre said Grinner "injustice." "I have been detained in," he said repeatedly, but Grinner's wife and family were "in constant contact" with the White House. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
"The President will do everything he can to bring her home with other Americans who are illegally detained." Jean-Pierre said.
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Greener's trial will resume on Thursday ..
Fox News' Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.
Ryan Gaydos is a sports editor for Fox News and Fox Business. You can send story tips to Ryan.Gaydos@fox.com.
