Brittney Griner’s verdict, sentencing concern Texans in Congress pushing for her release

WASHINGTON — News of Houston native Brittney Griner’s conviction and sentencing on drug charges in Russia drew mixed reactions from Texas politicians Thursday.

Democrats and some Republicans expressed deep disappointment and vowed to keep fighting for her release. But some in the GOP expressed continued concerns about Griner stemming from her stance on the national anthem in 2020.

After the U.S. Olympic gold medalist and WNBA basketball star was convicted of drug possession and sentenced to nine years in prison, the Texans who spearheaded efforts in Congress for her release reacted to the news with frustration and concern.

Dallas Democratic U.S. Rep. Colin Allred said on Twitter that the legal process has been bogus. Griner, a Baylor basketball alumna, was first arrested and detained in February.

“Folks must remember that this conviction is all part of a sham trial and Brittney was wrongfully detained,” the congressman tweeted Thursday. “It is just another cynical way for Russia to try and gain leverage.”

In June, Allred and U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, led a bipartisan resolution in the House calling for Griner’s immediate release and expressing support for former Marine Paul Whelan and “all prisoners unjustly imprisoned in the Russian Federation.”

“The intense work underway by the U.S. government should continue to pursue her release,” Jackson Lee tweeted. “Vladimir Putin needs to stop holding Brittney Griner as a political pawn and a hostage to dangle before the world. Mr Putin. I’m asking for mercy for Brittney and Paul!”

Sen. John Cornyn led a partner resolution in the Senate, which Sen. Ted Cruz co-sponsored. “Disappointed and deeply concerned that Russia appears ready to continue unjustly detaining Brittney Griner,” Cruz wrote Thursday. “She should be released and returned to her family immediately.”

At the White House, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated that Griner and Whelan have been unjustly detained and that the U.S. has made a “substantial offer” to free them. “We are willing to take every step necessary to bring home our people,” she said.

“Wrongfully detained. They need to come home. There’s a deal on the table. Let’s make the deal,” said White House national security spokesman John Kirby.

San Antonio Democratic U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro had this blunt message on Twitter for Russia on Griner: “Americans are not political pawns. Russia’s continued wrongful detention of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan is outrageous and both must be released immediately.”

Some Texas Republicans offered a different point of view.

Houston-area GOP U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls voiced a criticism popular among conservatives still upset over Griner’s 2020 comments that the WNBA should not play the national anthem before games.

“Brittany (sic) Griner will now live rent free in a country that hates America as much as she does,” Nehls wrote on Twitter.

The Galveston County Republican Party also reacted with a tweet saying, “Many more Americans would be sympathetic to Griner if she had Jesse Owens’ attitude.” Owens was a U.S. track and field champion who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

Washington Bureau chief Todd Gillman and assistant politics editor John Gravois contributed to this report.