Brittney Griner is "very afraid" and feels that she is being forgotten about in Russia, according to her wife, who had a "disturbing" phone conversation with her.
Cherelle Griner spoke with CBS Mornings almost eight months after her wife, Brittney Griner, was arrested in Russia for having cannabis vape cartridges in her luggage. Cherelle said she has had two phone conversations with Brittney beginning in August, the first of which left her feeling that "we can survive this." But things changed with the second call.
"It was the most disturbing phone call I've ever experienced," she said, explaining "you could hear" that Brittney "was not okay" during the brief conversation. "I don't know if she has anything left in her tank to continue to wake up every day and be in a place where she has no one," she added.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In August, Griner was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison after being convicted on drug charges, and she has an appeal hearing scheduled for Oct. 25. But Cherelle Griner told CBS that her wife is "at her absolute weakest moment in life" and is "very afraid about being left and forgotten in Russia." She also said that Brittney told her, "I feel like my life just doesn't matter. Y'all don't see me? Ya'll don't see the need to get me back home? Am I just nothing?"
Cherelle expressed concern that her wife could be moved to a Russian labor camp, though she told CBS she believes President Biden is "doing what he can" to bring her home.
-
Bluetoothing: the phenomenon driving HIV spike in FijiUnder the Radar ‘Blood-swapping’ between drug users fuelling growing health crisis on Pacific island
-
Marisa Silver’s 6 favorite books that capture a lifetimeFeature The author recommends works by John Williams, Ian McEwan, and more
-
Book reviews: ‘We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution’ and ‘Will There Ever Be Another You’Feature The many attempts to amend the U.S. Constitution and Patricia Lockwood’s struggle with long Covid
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to ChicagoSpeed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Does Reform have a Russia problem?Talking Point Nigel Farage is ‘in bed with Putin’, claims Rachel Reeves, after party’s former leader in Wales pleaded guilty to taking bribes from the Kremlin
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in OregonSpeed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denialSpeed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartelsspeed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feudSpeed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protestersSpeed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
