Brittney Griner’s causes controversy: find out what the public is saying!
I am crying, seriously, and just so happy that you have been released' - Stevie Nicks celebrates Brittney Griner's homecoming.
Singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks was one of many to welcome Brittney Griner back to U.S. soil, but the 74-year-old’s heartfelt social media posts drew a mixed reaction online.
“Welcome home Brittney Griner! I found out at 5:30 this morning that you were ‘in the air’ on your way home. I am crying, seriously, and just so happy that you have been released,” Nicks’ wrote in a message posted to both her Twitter and Instagram accounts. “You are free~Today is a beautiful day,” she added.
Griner spent nearly 300 days in Russia after she was caught attempting to enter the country with cannabis vape cartridges in her luggage.
She was serving a nine-year sentence and had recently been relocated to a penal colony in Mordovia, known as the ‘land of the prisons,’ before she was released earlier this month.
While some fans supported Nicks’ message, others seemed to take issue.
“It’s great she’s free but what about the soldier that is still over there?????????” wrote one fan, per Cheatsheet. “Traded for the Merchant Of Death. The cost will be in thousands of innocent lives,” added another.
Griner was released in a prisoner exchange that also saw convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout freed. Bout, also known as the ‘Merchant of Death,’ was serving a twenty-five-year prison sentence in the U.S. He ended up spending just over a decade in prison before being released.
During the prison swap in Abu Dhabi, Reuters reported that Bout said he wished Griner good luck while the two were passing one another on the tarmac.
“I wished her luck, she even sort of reached out her hand to me,” he said. “It’s our tradition. You should wish everyone good fortune and happiness.”
Some of Nicks’ fans seem to agree with that sentiment.
“It seems the gesture wishing someone well is turning into a crime over there,” one fan commented on Nicks’ post. “God help us … spread some love people.”
Earlier this month, The Associated Press reported that Griner plans to return to the court next season in the Women’s National Basketball Association.
One of the most decorated women’s basketball players of all time, Griner was in Russia to spend her off-season playing for UMMC Ekaterinburg, a team in the Russian Premier League. In addition to her WNBA and NCAA accomplishments, Griner is a three-time Russian National League champion.
