Kyrie Irving, Who Divided His Fanbase with Strong Brittney Griner Comment, Speaks Out After WNBA Star?s Release

The NBA world has welcomed Brittney Griner home with open hands as she returned from Russia after nearly ten months of detainment. Many NBA stars including LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Dwyane Wade, have shown their love for Griner, who was released on December 8 as part of a prisoner swap deal between Washington and Moscow. Recently, Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving, who left his fanbase divided with strong comments about Griner, spoke out on the release of the two-time Olympic gold medalist.

Back in October, Kyrie Irving addressed the detainment of Brittney Griner at the Barclays Center while talking about the championship expectations. Speaking in favor of BG’s release, the Nets guard asked President Biden and his administration to do their jobs in freeing ‘sister’ Griner. Irving’s firm comments while demanding BG’s release had a divisive impact on his fanbase, as many considered Griner’s detainment to be a just upholding of the Russian law. Recently, the 2016 NBA champ offered his take on Griner’s release once again.

Kyrie Irving expresses his views on the release of Brittney Griner

On December 8, Kyrie Irving welcomed Brittney Griner home via Twitter, a few hours after the news about her release broke. Irving praised BG for showing ‘a true Warriors spirit’. The Nets star has been supporting the cause of Griner’s release for months. He was happy that the government’s efforts had finally paid off.

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Recently Nets reporter Kristian Winfield shared Irving’s opinion on Brittney Griner. In his recent tweet, Winfield reported, “Kyrie Irving on Brittney Griner: ‘I’m grateful she’s home. Grateful she’s with her family. Most importantly, humanity comes first.”

Irving was thankful that Griner had finally returned home to her family. He seemed to be happy that humanity had prevailed during a positive outcome for the WNBA star.

Griner’s release leads to divided opinion

Many people have supported President Joe Biden’s decision to secure the release of Brittney Griner. The eight-time All-Star was released as a part of a one-for-one prisoner swap deal in exchange for notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout. However, many Republicans, including former President Trump, have criticized the fact that the Biden Administration left behind retired US marine Paul Whelan.

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Whelan was included in the initial two-for-one prisoner swap deal proposed by the US. However, after months of negotiations, Russia offered to release only BG for Bout. As per reports, the US negotiators tried their best to include Whelan in the swap deal. However, Russia disagreed and the US had to settle for Brittney Griner.