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Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) star and Houston native Brittney Griner saw her time in a Russian prison for drug possession come to an end on Thursday.
Per an Associated Press (AP) story that was ran by Houston CBS affiliate KHOU, Russia agreed to free the 32-year-old Griner in a prisoner swap for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who’s in U.S. custody.
Griner was more than three months into a nine-year prison sentence that had roots in her apprehension earlier this year at a Moscow airport when authorities discovered hashish oil in her luggage and subsequently detained her.
The AP reported that securing Griner’s freedom was a priority for the Biden administration, and the swap took place just as the war between Russia and Ukraine is nearing the one-year mark.
“She is safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way home,” President Joe Biden said in a tweet.
He included a pair of pictures of himself, Vice President Kamala Harris and Griner’s spouse, Cherelle, in the Oval Office
At the time the White House was negotiating her release, NBC News reported, Griner was an inmate at a Russian penal colony.
It’s the second time this year an American with Texas connections was released from the Russian justice system.
A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers successfully brokered freedom for ex-Marine Trevor Reed, who hails from North Texas and resides in the Permian Basin.
Reed returned to the U.S. in April from serving what was supposed to be a decade-long prison sentence for physically assaulting a law enforcement officer, Houston Daily reported at the time.
NBC News reported that the Biden administration has now turned its attention to another jailed American in Russia, Paul Whelan.
Citing a senior White House official, the outlet reported that Griner’s first stop on U.S. soil will be a medical facility in San Antonio for treatment.
The WNBA’s entire 2022 season was dedicated to Griner.