Dec. 8, 2022, Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response to the Russian release of Brittney Griner:
“The Biden administration showed the world what privilege really looks like when they agreed to exchange a WNBA basketball player for a Russian arms dealer known as the Merchant of Death.
“Every American knows that if you, your son or daughter were caught carrying drugs in Russia, tried, convicted and sentenced, you would be doing everything you could to survive the next decade in a Russian gulag. LeBron James would not be advocating for you, sportswriters like the insufferable Bill Plaschke would not be writing columns on your behalf, various interest groups wouldn’t mobilize on your behalf, and needless to say, the president would have no idea who you were.
“But Brittney Griner is a professional athlete. An athlete who a vast majority of Americans had no idea who she was until she decided to go through Russian security with a vaping pen and hashish oil, which is a serious crime in Russia. Griner was not kidnapped, she was arrested, caught dead to rights. No allegations have been made that she was not guilty, or that her confession was coerced. Yet, she, unlike you, is worth the release of someone who was responsible for thousands, if not tens of thousands of black deaths in Africa due to his trade.
“As you are fed the celebration of Griner’s release today, just remember the cost of that release. The message has been sent about what the Biden administration values. As for me, I am glad that I am not a high-profile US athlete travelling the world, after all, if you can get the Merchant of Death for Griner imagine what any run of the mill kidnapper can get out of the US government for a celebrity someone the American public actually knows.”
For media availability contact Americans for Limited Government at media@limitgov.org.
###