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“(As) I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey or any achievements, I am terrified that I could be here forever,” she wrote, according to a statement released by the communications company representing the Griner family.
Griner’s supporters and US officials say she was wrongfully detained and have called for her release as concerns mount that she is being used as a political pawn amid rising tensions between Russia and the US.
Griner’s letter to Biden, according to the communications company’s statement, was delivered to the White House on Monday morning. Three excerpts of the letter have been made public, while the rest are being kept secret, the statement said.
“On the 4th of July, our family usually honors the service of those who fought for our freedom, including my father, who is a veteran of the Vietnam War. It pains me to think about how I usually celebrate this day, because freedom means something completely different to me this day of the year,” Griner wrote to Biden.
“I realize you’re dealing with so much, but please don’t forget about me and the other American prisoners. Please do whatever you can to bring us home. I voted for the first time in 2020 and I voted for you. I believe in you. I still have so much good to do with my freedom that you can help restore. I miss my wife! I miss my family! I miss my teammates! It kills me to know they are suffering so much right now. I am grateful for anything you can do at this time to bring me home.”
The White House reiterated Monday that “the Russian Federation wrongfully detained Brittney Greener.”
“President Biden has been clear about the need for all US citizens who are being held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad to be released, including Brittney Griner. The US government continues to work aggressively – using all available means – to bring her home,” National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement to CNN.
“The president’s team is in regular contact with Brittney’s family and we will continue to work to support her family,” Watson said, adding that National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken “have spoken several times with the wife of Britney in recent weeks and the White House has been coordinating closely with the president’s special envoy on hostage issues, who has met with Britney’s family, her teammates and her support network.”
In the only interview she has given on the eve of her wife’s trial in Russia, Cheryl Greener sat in the Phoenix Mercury locker room and called for more action.
“It’s really, really hard. This is not a situation where the rhetoric matches the action,” she said. “Unfortunately, I have to push people to make sure the things they say to me match their actions, so it’s been the hardest thing to balance because I can’t let go. It’s been over 130 days and BG still not back.”
“Not a day goes by that we don’t think about Britney and work to bring her home,” Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton of Arizona, who sponsored the resolution, said in a statement. “We will continue to push for her release and make sure she is not forgotten.”
Stanton previously served as mayor of Phoenix, where Greener played for the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA.
Stanton introduced the resolution in May along with Democrats Sheila Jackson Lee and Colin Allred of Texas, Griner’s home state.
“I am grateful for this tremendous support from Congress. We must do everything we can to keep Britney’s case in the forefront and finally put an end to this nightmare,” Cheryl Greener said in a statement at the time.
Vanessa Nygaard, the Phoenix Mercury’s first-year head coach, reacted Monday to Griner’s letter during a news conference in Los Angeles before her team’s game against the Sparks.
“It made me cry, you know, just hearing her say that her father was a Vietnam veteran, her new perspective on freedom, that she wants to be with her family and her teammates, that she doesn’t know if she’ll ever be free . On our day of freedom, to hear these words from such a beloved person… It’s great and it’s great that she was able to convey this message to us and we hope that some people pay attention to it and of course The Biden administration and our State Department putting that at the front of their messaging would be incredible for us,” Nygaard said.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misspelled Britney Griner’s first name.
This story has been updated with additional reaction.
Abby Phillip, Steve Almasi, Homero De la Fuente, Rachel Gianfaza, Maegan Vazquez and Jill Martin contributed to this report from CNN.
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