After months in captivity, Brittney Griner was finally released on Thursday in exchange for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Griner’s fans and supporters across the board celebrated her return to the country. However, many believe that the one-for-one prisoner swap deal was a foreign policy debacle for the US. In the last few days, many have used their platform to share their opinion on the deal. Recently, former NBA player Royce White slammed the deal between Russia and the U.S.

The former Sacramento Kings player joined host Rob Schmitt on the NEWSMAX channel to discuss the prisoner swap deal. White stated that it was a “bad deal.”

Royce White on the prisoner swap deal of Brittney Griner

Host Rob Schmitt initially slammed the news organizations that are claiming Brittney Griner was put in a tough situation because of the pay disparity in the WNBA. He went into details and compared the income generated by the WNBA and NBA. He then asked Royce White about his opinion on these claims.

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White stated that these news organizations are not speaking about the reality and implied the country is in a conflict with Russia. He stated, “And when you go to war with a country with some people who aren’t playing around. And you let your citizens mosey on over like it’s a normal calendar year, they end up getting detained and you end up getting a bad deal to trade back in that detainment.”

However, White clarified that he has always been in favor of fighting for the release of Brittney Griner, like any other American citizen. However, he’s against the false narratives that surround the issue.

The host then asked White about former Marine Paul Whelan being left behind. Schmitt pointed out contradicting claims of Russia and the U.S. about freeing Whelan. He added that both administrations are capable of lying. White replied, “Well that’s the problem when you got a bunch of liars right all around the table.”

While admitting the country should fight to bring every American home including Griner, he noted Whelan should have been brought back first. During the discussion, White said the country got a bad deal because of bad leadership. He added that Russia knew they would be able to get what they wanted because of the media and the incompetent leaders in the U.S.

President Joe Biden on Paul Whelan

After Brittney Griner’s release, President Joe Biden stated his regret about not bringing Paul Whelan back home. “Sadly, for illegitimate reasons, Russia has treated Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s. And while we have not yet succeeded in securing Paul’s release, we have not given up. We will never give up,” Biden said.

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Whelan has been in captivity since December 2018. He was convicted of espionage and was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2016.