LeBron James is publicly criticizing the United States' handling of WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner's case in a trailer for an upcoming episode of his television show: "The Shop: Uninterrupted."
Griner is on trial in Russia for drug possession. She pleaded guilty last week and will appear again in court on Thursday. It's unclear when the show was filmed, although in the trailer, it's mentioned she had been in Russia for over 110 days which would be roughly five weeks ago.
Since that time, in addition to the start of the trial and the guilty plea, Griner's wife Cherelle has had a phone conversation with President Joe Biden. Biden has also recently received a letter from Brittney Griner and sent her a letter back.
“Now, how can she feel like America has her back?” James said in the trailer. “I would be feeling like, ‘Do I even wanna go back to America?’”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said Washington would continue to work for the release of Griner, as well as other Americans held by Moscow, including former Marine Paul Whelan.
“We will not relent until Brittney, Paul Whelan, and all other wrongfully detained Americans are reunited with their loved ones,” he tweeted last week.
