It's not like Russia was a trustworthy place for an American to visit before the Ukraine war. She was chasing the money that Russia gives out and got caught up in a completely predictable situation. The whole Russian women's basketball league is shady. They pay millions in salary and some of the teams don't even sell tickets to games.

I look at it a lot like someone who rides bulls for a living. It's not a shock when the bull injures them.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

there should be an epic rap battles of history between griner and edward snowden.

But Russia was a trustworthy place to visit pre-War, as Zippy pointed out. Hell, forget visiting, Americans lived and worked in Russia for several years prior to the war.

Again, Griner has been playing in Russia during the WNBA off-season since at least 2015. That's at least six years of back and forth travel with no issue. So to say becoming a political prisoner was "predictable" is not persuasive given it never happened previously during the six years she's been visiting/working in Russia.

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Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

People climb mountains without any safety gear for years before they fall off. It doesn't mean it wasn't a real danger to fall off the whole time.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Russia was safe to live and work in, when? Back when NHL player and tennis player families were being held hostage or threatened for ransom? Russia's never been safe, especially for higher-profile types. And trying to smuggle illegal drugs into Russia, that's just insane.

She seems to have made a very dumb decision without understanding the potential consequences. She opened the door; some bad people walked through it.

As a result, we’re going to give them an international arms dealer to release her.

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Putin's going to ask for more than that for our prized WNBA player. He'll probably tie it to Ukraine somehow. Maybe he'll make the US hand over Kiev or Kyiv for Griner. Plus Poland and East Germany go back under Russian rule, and that's for openers. Maybe he'll ask for Cleveland too. It's gonna be a huge price to cut a few months at most off her sentence.

The other thing to keep in mind is that all the players who go over there become millionaires helping Russian billionaires launder money from people who are far more problematic than your average Trump voter. Basketball superstar and most importantly the wife of the best soccer player in the world Meghan Rapinoe was more than happy to accept the dirty money to be a millionaire even though she was playing in a place that makes the Deep South look like the most liberal place of San Francisco.

So even if we believe that Americans in general could go to Russia to work as district managers of McDonalds and be safe enough it's hard to really feel sorry for any women's basketball player who got involved in the dirty business of Russian women's basketball because it paid well and ended up with the surprising result of shady behavior by Russian authorities.

That doesn't mean the United States shouldn't do what they can to get her released even if we have to give them back one of their spies but just like the guy who went to live with bears in Alaska all it takes is a few seconds until the bear does what the bear does and eats anything it can find.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

back when Daley's son was putting putting together "investor" groups that used the part of the immigration law that allows quick citizenship for people who invest some mid six figure sum into us businesses

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Russia : women’s basketball :: Saudi : men’s golf

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your last sentence is all I'm saying. Bring our people back. Hell, Reese Witherspoon would produce some heroic movie about the struggle if it was some young woman in prison because of drugs in southeast asia

and I say this knowing full well that she is going to mf the usa in front of cameras the moment she touches down on our soil

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

That law was intended for Hong Kongers, not Eastern Europeans. Thanks Bush!

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Biden's State Department called it 8 months before Griner got arrested: June 2021 State Dept bulletin advised Americans against travel to Russia for exactly the reason Griner got pinched (although tbf to the Russians, Griner did break their laws):

If she weren't a celebrity basketball player, there is no chance any president would be willing to make a quick deal to bring her home. Some folks have sat for years before we made a deal to bring them home.

_________________
Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Why am I supposed to care about Brittany Griner?

_________________
2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

It isn't required but some say some order of woman, lesbian, black, pro player, media says so.

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Elections have consequences.

Biden has to get Griner back before the 2024 campaigns start ramping up. Otherwise Trump will hammer him on it. Trump will hammer Biden for it regardless, but it will be less effective if Griner's back playing in the WNBA Finals than if she's still cooling her heels in a Russian prison.

Because she's a woman who is a celebrity basketball player.

_________________
Be well

GO BEARS!!!

a possible 10 year sentence for 2 vape cartridges

I would hope you all could be a little more sympathetic to the situation

also, the exchange discussion for Mr. Death or whatever he is called includes both Griner and an american former marine who now works in international security and was "only in russia to attend a friends wedding". I think we can all read between the lines on why he might be the lesser known but more important component

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Question still stands.

_________________
2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

Why should we? That's their law. Her arrogance got her arrested. Most of us would have left when the first bomb was dropped. We would have left our illegal drugs as well. You or I wouldn't be able to shame an administration into bringing us home. She's only unique because of her celebrity.

_________________
Be well

GO BEARS!!!

_________________
Be well

GO BEARS!!!

just remake "brokedown palace" with this story.

Given that it is ¨evil¨ Russia do ¨WE¨ know that she even had drugs?

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Didn't she admit it?

_________________
2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

They knew she had them in her bag. I'm sure she's always had them in her bag, but they looked the other way.

_________________
Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Or she just got lucky. DW watches Locked Up Abroad and these folks carry drugs successfully thru customs dozens of times before they get pinched.

If she really had cannabis vapes she kinda deserves to be punished according to the laws of the country in which she was caught. We would do the same here.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Seeing that its "evil" Russia the confession might have been coerced. Definitely not beyond the realm for them to do so

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everything about the case is kinky and we recognize that the punishment doesn't fit the crime (well, I guess we can see what she gets). If this was legitimate in any way, you might say "let the justice system run its course".

as much as it might make some feel good for her to see what true systemic injustice looks like, I say bring her home

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I think we can recognize that it was a political arrest and also acknowledge that her arrogance is the primary reason why she was arrested.

Would you be shocked to find out that she was in on it?

_________________
Be well

GO BEARS!!!