Brittney Griner detention: WNBA star's wife wants Biden admin to follow through on rhetoric

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Cherelle Griner, the wife of Brittney Griner, who has been detained in Russia since February, said Wednesday she wants the Biden administration to walk the walk if it's going to talk the talk.

Cherelle Griner appeared on MSNBC and explained her feelings while her wife has been detained. The U.S. State Department reclassified the WNBA player's status as being "wrongfully detained," opening the door for negotiations for her release.

"So, what I believe that the Biden administration can do differently is to actually take the words and the rhetoric that they have and match them together," Cherelle Griner said. 

"For example, an American that’s deemed wrongfully detained, to my understanding, from what the State Department is saying, America will negotiate their release. It’s not a maybe. It’s a will. They will negotiate for their release."

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Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner (42) drives past Chicago Sky forward Candace Parker (3) during the first half of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals Oct. 10, 2021, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso, File)

She added that her push was to get the Biden administration to do "exactly that" – negotiate her wife’s release.

She said he hadn’t spoken with President Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris at all during the ordeal despite multiple requests.

"The person that has the power — the Biden administration itself, being President Biden, Vice President Harris — I have not spoken to them. I have asked. I have requested. And, at this point, it almost feels like they’re indirectly telling me no," she said.

"It almost feels like, indirectly, they have told us as a family