NBA star LeBron James has never found an issue on which he wasn’t willing to share his misinformed, anti-American opinions.
That includes Brittney Griner’s detention in Russia, which he is, of course, using to promote himself and his entertainment content — even if it provides a propaganda victory for war criminal and human-rights violator Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president.
In the “official trailer” for an episode of James’s talk show The Shop, James asks how Griner could “feel like America has her back.” According to James, “I would be feeling like, ‘Do I even want to go back to America?’”
What exactly James wants the American government to do here is not clear. Russia detained Griner, who went to Russia of her own accord, taking the calculated risk of playing professionally in an authoritarian country to earn more money. The United States can try to negotiate her release, but she isn’t even the only American being held there. The Biden administration has probably been negotiating for her more than for other Americans ever since the news of her detainment broke.
Russia took Griner prisoner and, somehow, King James has come to the conclusion that the U.S. is the villain. But would Griner rather remain a Russian prisoner than return to America? That seems unlikely.
And where should Griner go, exactly? In the U.S., Griner has been able to turn basketball into a career. That doesn’t exist outside our country. Since her college days, she has become a minor celebrity. Yes, Russia’s basketball league pays more than the WNBA, but Griner’s footprint in the U.S. is what allowed her to sign endorsement deals with major companies such as Nike without the threat of being held as a political prisoner by an authoritarian government.
There are some 40 American wrongful detainees being held across the world, including others being held by Russia right now. The U.S. also isn’t the only country to have citizens imprisoned by authoritarians. Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom have all had citizens detained by bad actors, ranging from the Taliban to the Chinese Communist Party.
Just as it is absurd to claim that women or black women are all victims of Griner’s imprisonment as opposed to Griner herself, it is absurd to claim that America is at fault for the Russian government acting like the thuggish regime it is.
Griner isn’t in prison because the U.S. doesn’t want her back or doesn’t care about her. She is still imprisoned because she was arrested in Russia and Russia refuses to release her. James is a fool for suggesting otherwise.
