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Brittney Griner News

Highlights

    1. Photo
      Brittney Griner, the American basketball star imprisoned in Russia on drug charges, arrived in San Antonio on Friday.
      CreditSuzanne Cordeiro/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

      Inside the Prisoner Swap That Freed Brittney Griner

      U.S. officials say Moscow had been pushing for the release of a Russian assassin being held in Germany before finally agreeing to release Ms. Griner for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer.

       By Michael D. Shear and Peter Baker

    2. Photo
      Brittney Griner on her arrival in San Antonio on Friday.
      CreditSuzanne Cordeiro/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

      Brittney Griner Swap Puts Spotlight on Americans in Russia

      Westerners in Russia have to weigh the risks of living and working in the country against professional and financial opportunities there.

       By Valerie Hopkins, Anatoly Kurmanaev and Jonathan Abrams

  1. Brittney Griner Will Return to W.N.B.A.

    Griner, who was released from a prison camp in Russia in December, signed a one-year contract with the Phoenix Mercury.

    By Jonathan Abrams

     

  2. An OK Basketball Player Hopes to Be a Great N.B.A. Team Owner

    Mat Ishbia was a walk-on at Michigan State 20 years ago before he became a wealthy businessman. His $4 billion deal to buy the Phoenix Suns could help him live his sports dream.

    By Tania Ganguli and Sopan Deb

     

  3. How Diane Foley Made It Her Mission to Prioritize U.S. Hostages Overseas

    Ms. Foley, whose son was killed by terrorists in the Middle East, has pressured the White House under three presidents to raise the profiles of Americans held overseas.

    By Peter Baker

     

  4. Russia’s ‘Sham’ Charge of Spying Makes Whelan’s Case the Hardest

    Supporters say Paul Whelan is more hapless tourist than James Bond — and that the Russians know it. But that doesn’t make freeing him any easier.

    By Michael Crowley

     

  5. The Interpreter

    In Hostage Diplomacy, It’s Often the Hostage-Takers Who Pay

    Detaining foreigners to wring concessions from their home country’s government holds perils for both sides, but especially, perhaps surprisingly, for the hostage takers.

    By Max Fisher

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  6. An academic who was imprisoned in Iran welcomes Brittney Griner to a ‘bizarre club.’

    Dr. Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who was in prison for two years, said she was unable to simply pick up where she left off, quitting her job, traveling and then writing about her experience.

    By Erin Mendell

     

  7. Sports of the Times

    Letters Helped Brittney Griner Survive. Here’s One for Her Future.

    When Griner was imprisoned in Russia, letters were her main form of communication with home. Our columnist offers one last letter to mark her return to the United States.

    By Kurt Streeter

     

  8. essay

    When a Prisoner Swap Is a Rorschach-Test

    The scene on the tarmac with Brittney Griner and Viktor Bout didn’t just show a prisoner trade. It told the story of where two rival countries had landed decades after the Cold War.

    By Nicholas Casey

     

  9. Viktor Bout’s Release Is Hailed in Russia as a Kremlin Victory

    To the West, he is a criminal with blood on his hands, a global weapons merchant — but Russia portrays Mr. Bout as a victim of American injustice.

    By Richard Pérez-Peña

     

  10. letters

    The Prisoner Exchange That Freed Brittney Griner

    Readers offer a mix of praise and criticism of the deal. Also: Trump prosecution; two views of Biden; tech jobs; befriending solo seniors.