WNBA star Brittney Griner on Thursday rejected some people saying the United States should not have saved her from Russian detention because she knelt during the National Anthem to protest police brutality.
“The unpatriotic thing, that blows my mind because 1) my dad fought for this country — 68/69 Vietnam Marines, law enforcement for 30-plus years. That was my hero. I wanted to be a cop. I didn't want to play basketball growing up; I wanted to be a cop, go into the military actually,” the women’s basketball star said during an interview on “The View.”
“Doesn't it make me more American, that I'm demonstrating a protest?” Griner continued. “That's my right as an American. So, for me to be called ‘un-American,’ I was blown away.”
Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, the so-called “Merchant of Death,” was swapped by the U.S. in exchange for Griner being freed and brought home. Donald Trump and some other conservatives panned the exchange, arguing Griner “hates” the United States.
Griner also rejected some people saying she shouldn’t have gotten help because they thought she was careless, forgetting she had packed a vape pen with THC in her luggage as she went through a Russian airport.
“People that call me careless — have you ever not forgot your keys?” Griner said. “Or, ‘where's my glasses? On top of my head.' Everyone’s made a mistake before.”
