Brittney Griner Pleads Guilty to Russian Drug Charges

I mean. I want her home and safe, but as she exits the plane the national anthem blaring as a reminder would be ok with me.

 

CBD oil = "Trumped up charges "???

Lol!

The Russians must have ZERO creativity...

 

The only thing I agree with here is it is silly in our eyes. To the Russians it is not. It's a serious transgression in their minds.

 

Cbd OIL?

Not doobage, not THC anything...

They're not that stupid.

This is a sham. If they were going to frame such a high profile personality without any kind of prearrangement, im quite certain they'd have come up with something a lot sexier n juicier.

 

Neither you nor I know exactly the contents of vials she had. I'll grant CBD oil is available without THC. Vaping oils are available where it is legal in the US with THC so the narrative of CBD only is moot.

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Ok, I'll concede on that point--as a possibility--but that does nothing to address the fact that she somehow makes it into Russia with at least as much of this stuff as she got caught with, when leaving.

One narrative holds water as is. The other requires an degree of suspension of disbelief. Which ordinarily suggests a work of fiction.

 

Which was noted in my original post as a contention on my part. Did she bring cannibus oil into Russia or did she obtain it there? I would have thought that she would have been subject to customs inspection upon entering Russia as my assumption is she caught a flight from Moscow to her destination and upon return followed the same route.

She was detained on her return not her arrival. That said it still doesn't answer the question as to why she was singled out if in fact this is a plant. From a US national perspective there is no political gain to be had. The fact that she is a sports figure of note to some is irrelevant. I'm inclined to believe there is much more at play here. None the less the charges against her will never be tried in an American court of law.

We see this as being unfortunate but geeze when on foreign soil mind your P's and Q's. Your actions and your words are not sacrosanct.

 

You make my case better than I.

(...which, if I'm being honest, was inspired by your post to which I first replied anyway, so not really saying anything new there...).

"Why was she singled out if in fact it was a plant?"

Elementary my dear Watson.

She was 'singled out' bc it was prearranged, not bc she just happened to have it on her (...while also having had it and more on her when she entered, when, golly gee, managed to slip through the cracks).

...and of course it would never be prosecuted in the US. Besides US having no jurisdiction, they chose a *crime* that wouldn't undermine public sympathy.

10 years for some CBD oil?

Man if that dont just tug at the ol' heart strings...

...and *who's this MOD to us anyway?* They'll prolly just deploy him to/sick 'em on the Ukraine...

...just strikes this particular skeptic as far too clean and convenient.

(Hopefully for BG's sake, she has some leverage for a plan B, bc I dont think Plan A is going to fly. Biden, for all his faults and to his credit, hasn't bitten yet, and despite growing pressure, hasn't betrayed any indication that im aware of, of his intent to humor the ploy here).


We shall see...

 

She plays professional basketball for a living. She plays on a Russian team in the off season and for all I know she could have upset a team mate looking for revenge or play time (Nancy Karrigan and Tonya Harding come to mind). People do nefarious things for personal reasons.

One thing that no one is pointing out is it is relatively easy to test athletes and the public for THC. I haven't seen any reports that this has been done. Nor have I heard anything about Brittney asking for such testing. A non positive test would give her side of the story more weight.

That said I'm sure there are other requirements that must be met by the team she plays for. Where the onus falls on testing for drugs is anyone's guess. When money is involved the typical answer is don't get caught. My gut says the athletes are warned of the consequences of getting caught and nothing else.

 

Read the book Red Notice about the way the Russians and their corrupt legal system works. Claiming they planted CBD oil is easy, the sentence is long and that gives them leverage.

 

Need an aluminum foil hat emoji for sure.

Add it to the list.

She is an American. A US citizen.

Bring her home. Maybe it will change her perspective. The hate on her is so petty...so right wing.

 

there are others that have been held longer and did nothing other than work for someone Putin didn't like that should be brought home before BG.

 

If we trade an arms dealer for her, can she then go back and play basketball…… for an oligarch, in a country whose leader blames many things on homosexuality……

 

no hate on her other than she committed stupidity trying to feed her habit and there are others that have been convicted and held much longer that are getting no love. BG is a victim of play stupid game (smuggle drug into Russia), win stupid prize. Why should she deserve special treatment over others?

 

I have taken some criticism for calling protests/kneeling for the anthem as lazy and self gratifying but this kind of illustrates it. Although I'm not a fan of kneeling I think it's a person's right to do so. If a team or organization has a problem with it they can address it as team rules.

I'm under the impression she tried to have it all out banned or discontinued at games though. Not sure if that is true but if it is I don't agree with that at all. If someone feels that strongly about America because of mistreatment of minorities including homosexuality why go play in a country with such openly anti-homosexual culture and legislation? It's totally inconsistent.

I view many "protests" the same way I view religious proselytizers that condemn people to hell while holding signs with inflammatory rhetoric and yelling through a megaphone. How many people are persuaded by those tactics? Is it done to spread the word or is it more for their own self worth?

To each their own and while peaceful activism hasn't always worked in this country I imagine in this day and age of more transparency peaceful activism that is more nuanced could go a lot further in achieving more understanding for one's cause than abject rejection of institutions and symbolism.

Maybe acknowledge the country isn't perfect and work needs to be done still but I know people who fervently celebrate the 4th, juneteenth and still want improvement. They are critical of our history but acknowledge the foundation was set to evolve. Not every country can say that cough cough Russia.

 

I think it's a virtual certainty that after she is released she will not be returning to Russia as long running the show over there.

 

I tend to agree. If there is a prisoner swap which seem likely it should include every American being held by the Russians not just Griner, Paul Whelan coming immediately to mind.
Paul Whelan, an American detained in Russia, wonders why he was left behind - CNNPolitics