UConn star Paige Bueckers urges Biden admin to bring Brittney Griner home: 'She's a hero'
Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia since February
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}UConn women’s basketball star Paige Bueckers added her voice to the growing number of athletes who have called on the Biden administration to bring Brittney Griner home.
Bueckers appeared on ESPN’s "NBA Today" and had a message for President Joe Biden as Griner faces up to 10 years in prison after she was arrested in February for allegedly bringing vape cartridges containing oils derived from cannabis through a Moscow airport. She has been detained ever since.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Connecticut Huskies guard Paige Bueckers looks on while wearing a shirt emblazoned with a graphic of Brittney Griner holding a "We Are BG" basketball, following the WNBA game between the Seattle Storm and the Connecticut Sun on June 17,2022, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. The Sun defeated the Storm 82-71. ( Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
"Just a message to President Biden, the government and anybody with high enough power to help get Brittney Griner back home. I believe it's way far due for her to come home, and she's an American. She's a hero. She's our sister in the WNBA, and she's just family to the whole United States. So, just whatever it takes to get her home, I think it's definitely time," Bueckers said.
Bueckers is one of the more influential college basketball stars. She boasts more than 1 million followers on Instagram, 371,000 followers on TikTok and 72,800 followers on Twitter,
Griner sent a letter to the White House Monday to make sure Biden and the rest of his administration do not "forget about me and the other American detainees" in Russia.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Griner’s letter was passed to the White House through her representatives. Though most of the contents remained private, her representatives shared some excerpts.
Paige Bueckers, #5 of the Connecticut Huskies, against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the championship game of the 2022 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Target Center on April 03, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
"… As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever," the WNBA superstar wrote.
"On the 4th of July, our family normally honors the service of those who fought for our freedom, including my father who is a Vietnam War Veteran. It hurts thinking about how I usually celebrate this day because freedom means something completely different to me this year."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}BRITTNEY GRINER'S COACH ON RUSSIAN DETENTION: 'IF IT WAS LEBRON, HE WOULD BE HOME, RIGHT?'
Griner pleaded with Biden to use his presidential powers to ensure her return. She was arrested in February for allegedly bringing vape cartridges containing oils derived from cannabis through a Moscow airport.
"Please do all you can to bring us home. I voted for the first time in 2020, and I voted for you. I believe in you. I still have so much good to do with my freedom that you can help restore," the letter read in part. "I miss my wife! I miss my family! I miss my teammates! It kills me to know they are suffering so much right now. I am grateful for whatever you can do at this moment to get me home."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed during Tuesday’s press briefing that the president did read the letter but declined to comment on if Biden had any plans to speak with Griner’s family directly.
WNBA basketball superstar Brittney Griner arrives to a hearing at the Khimki Court, outside Moscow on July 1, 2022. - Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and WNBA champion, was detained at Moscow airport in February on charges of carrying in her luggage vape cartridges with cannabis oil, which could carry a 10-year prison sentence. (KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)
"This is an issue that is a priority for this president," she said. "As you have heard us say before, he believes that any U.S. national that is held abroad or detained or held hostage abroad — we need to bring back safely, and we are going to use every tool that we possibly can to make that happen. Again, this is a priority for the president."
"I just don't have anything to share on what communication the president's going to have with Mrs. Griner and her family," she later added. "All I can confirm is that he's read the letter, and he's making this a priority."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jean-Pierre, who reiterated that Griner is being "wrongfully detained," said that Griner’s wife and family are in "constant communication" with the White House, most recently with national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
"The president's going to do everything that he can in his power to bring her home, along with other U.S. nationals who are being held wrongfully detained aboard," Jean-Pierre said.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Griner’s trial resumes Thursday.
Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.