In a handwritten letter from Brittney Greener that was delivered to the White House on Monday, the WNBA player wrote how terrified she was that she could be imprisoned in Russia “forever.”
Griner’s wife Cheryl told “CBS Mornings” that when she read the letter, she felt the fear Griner felt.
“She’s probably the strongest person I know, so she doesn’t say things like that lightly. It means she’s really terrified that she might never see us again. You know, I share the same feelings,” Cherrell said.
Cherrell, who recently spoke with his wife only through letters, said he believes Greener decided to write directly to President Joe Biden because the family had no luck reaching him.
“It kills me every time, you know, when I have to text her and she’s like, ‘Have you met them yet?’ And I have to say no… I’m sure she’s like, ‘I’ll text him and I’m going to ask him now, because my family tried and failed, so I’m going to do it myself,” Cheryl said.
Even after yesterday’s letter was delivered, Cherrell said she had not heard from Biden directly and said it was “very disheartening.”
Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport in February after officials in Russia claimed she had cannabis oil in her luggage. A Russian judge ordered Griner, the Phoenix Mercury center who played in Russia during the WNBA offseason, to remain in custody. If convicted of drug-smuggling charges, Greener could face 10 years in a Russian prison. The trial against her will resume on July 7.
Cherrell said that when he first heard that Greener was being indicted by the Russian government for “large-scale drug trafficking,” he couldn’t believe it.
“It hit me because I’m like big? I live with BG every day and there’s no way. So I knew it wasn’t true the moment I heard the accusation because I know my wife. I don’t think so,” she said. It’s very unfortunate, you know, that she’s in this position because Bulgaria doesn’t do anything large-scale in drug trafficking. It was very, very difficult to hear this accusation.”
Griner’s trial began last week after several delays. Photos of Griner walking into the courtroom are some of the only visuals Cherelle has seen of Griner. One of those photos worried her and prompted her to ask Greener if she was okay and if she was “crazy at this point.”
“I honestly wrote to her and said, ‘Hey honey, you know, I saw your picture and I know there’s such a thing as propaganda, but I have to ask, I’m inclined to ask… are you okay?’ Are you crazy right now? Know that if you are, I still love you and when you come back we will love you all over again, show yourself grace. If you’re not crazy, please help my conscience and give me, you know, a little more context about the picture,’” Sherrell recalled asking.
Cheryl said Britney replied, “I was very weak at that point. But I promise I’m not crazy, not yet,” she said. “But I was startled because I turned the corner and it was like hundreds of media people just sitting there with cameras and stuff waiting.”
The US State Department, which is working with Cherrell, said it had determined that Brittney was being held unlawfully.
Cherrell said she is working diligently to ensure her wife is released from prison and returned to the United States.
“Initially they told me, you know, we’re going to try to book, we’re going to try to deal with it behind the scenes and let’s not inflate her value and you know keep quiet. You know, I did that and respectfully, we’re over 140 days now. It’s not working,” Cherrell said. “So I’m not going to be quiet anymore. I’m going to find that balance between harm and help to get our government to do everything it can because by being quiet, they’re not moving, they’re not doing anything. the wife is struggling and we need to help her.”
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