Disclaimer: This article may contain the viewpoint and opinion of the author.
The professional basketball world is supposed to be a very tight-knit and close group. There are not a lot of athletes that belong to that group for both the NBA and the WNBA. Even if the global teams are included in that count, there still are not many athletes.
NBA superstar Steph Curry made it clear several weeks ago, during the ESPN ESPY Award show, that they are a small elite group of athletes and they need to stick together. Curry took the stage with two WNBA stars. The three demanded Brittany Griner be brought home from her imprisonment in Russia.
Many basketball and music stars have declared solidarity with Griner and have demanded the United States Government negotiate her release. The ironic thing is, that the people have not mentioned other fellow Americans held in Russia on questionable charges.
The pressure these skilled international diplomats have put on the government has delayed negotiations between the United States and Russia. The American government leaked negotiations and who was discussed in the prisoner exchange, angering the Russians who wanted it kept secret.
It was leaked the US was offering Viktor Bout. The international arms dealer is called the Merchant of Death for his prowess in selling arms and munitions to everyone around the globe contributing to the killing of an untold number of people.
The trade seems one-sided for anyone with an ounce of common sense. Why would America offer up a man synonymous with death like Bout in exchange for a spoiled professional athlete who has made it apparent she hates the United States?
The Administration sees an upcoming mid-term election and identifies the African-American voting block as a large part of the group demanding Griner’s return. Since the Progressive Democrats practice identity politics, they will look to secure votes in negotiating her return.
However, the groups appearing unified in their quest to get her back may not be so unified after all. The State Department has warned Americans from traveling to Russia. They have also placed very stern warnings on athletes from continuing to play basketball in Russia.
USA TODAY Sports has identified at least 31 men and one woman who are expected to play in the Russian professional leagues. Many people familiar with the current state of relations with Russia are shocked Americans are going over there to play.
“I don’t think any Americans should willingly go play basketball in Russia right now,” said Dr. Dani Gilbert, a hostage negotiation expert and Rosenwald Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy and International Security at the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding at Dartmouth College.
There are rumors by both NBA players and WNBA players about shunning anyone who travels to Russia to play. Everyone considers Griner as “wrongly convicted” because American laws are quite different than Russian laws.
In America, marijuana is mainstream and used by professional athletes. But that doesn’t matter in Russia where the drug laws are “draconian.” However, people have to abide by the rule of law in whatever country they are in. We don’t get to choose which ones to follow and which one not to.
The fact that more athletes are willing to go to Russia to play and the current social justice warriors of the NBA and WNBA applying pressure on the State Department will continue to make negotiations difficult. The State Department will get backed into a corner on both ends.
The Biden Administration has not had a good week. The President has lost favorability for his student loan debacle. California threw a roadblock in the Green Energy push when they passed the requirement for electric vehicles by 2035 and then warned residents of energy grid blackouts the next day.
Then Biden gave a Hitlersque speech Thursday night attacking more than half the nation’s population as enemies of the State. If his team agrees to swap a professional athlete who hates the country for a professional killer who hates the country, it will be another bumbling move by this incompetent President.
