The Los Angeles Lakers player insists he's not 'knocking our beautiful country' when saying that the WNBA star should question whether she wants to return to America.
- Jul 13, 2022
AceShowbiz - LeBron James has backpedaled on his criticism of the U.S.' effort or lack thereof to bring Brittney Griner back to America. After weighing in on the WNBA star's detainment in Russia, the NBA ace denied that he was bashing "our beautiful country."
The Los Angeles Lakers player gave his two cents on Brittney's situation in a trailer for the latest episode of his talk show "The Shop: Uninterrupted". "Now, how can she feel like America has her back?" he said in the preview. "I would be feeling like, 'Do I even want to go back to America?' "
The episode, which features a wide-ranging discussion among LeBron, co-host Maverick Carter, show creator Paul Rivera, actor Daniel Kaluuya, British soccer star Marcus Rashford and artist Rashid Johnson, will air not air in full until Friday, July 15 on YouTube, so the context of LeBron's remarks wasn't really clear.
However, after many assumed that LeBron was criticizing the U.S. government, he quickly took to Twitter to clarify his comments in the trailer. "My comments on 'The Shop' regarding Brittney Griner wasn't knocking our beautiful country," the King tweeted on Tuesday, July 12.
The 37-year-old athlete further explained, "I was simply saying how she's probably feeling emotionally along with so many other emotions, thoughts, etc inside that cage she's been in for over 100+ days! Long story short #BringHerHome."
Prior to LeBron, Chris Brown has questioned the lack of support for Brittney. "It's not my business but.... it's f**ked up what they doing to Brittney Griner," so the R&B singer posted on his Instagram Story last week. "If this was a male star athlete yall would be way more vocal and helpful. That s**t lame as f**k. I wish I could really help her out."
Brittney was arrested in Russia on February 17 after the Federal Security Service found she was carrying vaporizer cartridges containing hash oil, an illegal substance in the country. Many have expressed concern that Russia may be using her as leverage in response to the Western sanctions imposed against Russia for its February 24 Russian invasion of Ukraine, with her wife Cherelle Watson calling the athlete "political pawn" in an interview with "Good Morning America".
Earlier this month, Brittney wrote a letter to President Joe Biden asking for help to get her out of Russian jail. "I'm terrified I might be here forever," she penned in the letter. She urged him not to "forget about me and the other American Detainees."
The president responded by reaching out to Brittney's wife Cherelle. The White House said on Wednesday, July 6, "The President offered his support to Cherelle and Brittney's family, and he committed to ensuring they are provided with all possible assistance while his administration pursues every avenue to bring Brittney home."
The 31-year-old athlete pleaded guilty during a trial on July 7, but noted, "There was no intent. I didn't want to break the law."
