Brittney Griner and Her Fight for Freedom Cover TIME Magazine

As the U.S. proposes a deal to release Brittany Griner, TIME’s new cover story features a story by Sean Gregory on how Griners’ detention in Russia represents the fight for freedom.

TIME’s Sean Gregory writes: “Griner is the most visible detainee among thousands taken by Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine this year, a high-profile prisoner exploited by a regime looking to showcase the limits of American power. Her imprisonment advances President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to humble U.S. President Joe Biden, who has been simultaneously criticized for failing to win Griner’s release and for prioritizing her case over those of other long-detained Americans abroad. At home, Griner’s detention has fueled outrage at the lack of equal rights for LGBTQ+ and Black people, an inequity long exploited by Moscow’s propagandists but nonetheless evident everywhere in American society.”

Highlights from the TIME cover story: Brittney Griner and The Fight For Freedom

On how Griner’s arrest has already flared tensions in America, Washington Mystics player Natasha Cloud tells TIME: “If this was Lebron James, Tom Brady—you can go into any professional men’s sport—if this were a man, he would have been home by now…It would have been a priority. Unfortunately, BG has fallen into that realm being a woman, being a gay Black woman.”

On how Giner was in the prime of her life and hitting her stride as a public figure, wife, sibling, daughter, teammate, friend before being detained Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, tells TIME: “The toughest moment during this ordeal is when I stop to think about how BG is doing…Those moments are overwhelming, and I’m consumed with emotions.”

On how Griner has spent her WNBA off-seasons since 2014 at the gateway to Siberia, playing for UMMC Ekaterinburg, Cherelle Griner tells TIME: “BG loved playing in Russia…They value women’s basketball.”

Read the cover story: https://bit.ly/3J98Kz9

The story behind TIME’s Brittney Griner cover: https://bit.ly/3cMZgNG

The August 8 / August 15, 2022, double issue of TIME goes on sale on Friday, July 29.

Courtesy of TIME Magazine

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Tags: Brittney Griner, Russia, State Department, Time, Trial

About the Author

Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.