Skip to main content

Trending

  • Mar-a-Lago search
  • January 6th attack
  • Alex Jones

Social Media Menu

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Utility Navigation

  • Take Action
  • Search
  • Donate

Media Matters for America

Main navigation

  • News & Analysis
  • Research & Studies
  • Audio & Video
  • Archives

Media Matters for America

  • Nav
  • Search

Main navigation

  • News & Analysis
  • Research & Studies
  • Audio & Video
  • Archives

Trending

  • Mar-a-Lago search
  • January 6th attack
  • Alex Jones

Utility Navigation

  • Take Action
  • Search
  • Donate

Social Media Menu

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Conservative media figures continue to attack WNBA star Brittney Griner following her nine-year sentence in Russia

Right-wing media say Griner displayed “arrogance” and “entitlement,” while continuing to criticize her racial justice activism in the US

Written by John Knefel

Published 08/04/22 2:57 PM EDT

Share

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Print

Comment

  • Comments

Conservative media figures responded to news that a Russian court had sentenced WNBA star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison on drug smuggling charges by shaming her for criticizing the American justice system in the past. The reaction across right-wing media was consistent with earlier targeting of the star, much of which portrayed her detention as poetic justice for her history of activism in the United States.

“Brittney Griner and many athletes have pointed out injustice in the American justice system,” Will Cain said on Fox News. “I think today is a very appropriate time to take a bigger, global, contextual look at the American justice system and realize it is the exception in human history.”

“What you are seeing in Russia is par for the course,” Cain continued. “The justice system here is the exception, our dedication to due process. It doesn't mean we are perfect, but this would not happen in the United States of America.”

Video file

Citation From the August 4, 2022, edition of Fox News' The Faulkner Focus

In fact, the United States has a long history of sending people to prison for years, including life sentences, for nonviolent drug-related or property crimes. Contrary to Cain’s larger point, rates of incarceration in the United States far those in outpace Russia, according to data from the Prison Policy Initiative.

Fox News commentator Tomi Lahren was positively giddy upon hearing Griner’s sentence.

Conservative YouTuber Steven Crowder responded to the breaking news live on his stream. “I’m sorry, this goes to the entitlement mindset of someone who thinks, Well, I have the right to do this. No you don’t,” Crowder said. “You didn’t know that hash oil was going to be a problem in Russia? And, by the way, you didn’t think they were going to pat you down as a Black American?”

Video file

Citation From the August 4, 2022, edition of Louder With Crowder, streamed on YouTube

Right-wing talk radio host Erick Erickson argued the same point, saying that it was “arrogance” on the part of Griner to think she wouldn’t be punished for breaking Russian law. 

Griner’s defense team said that she brought the cannabis oil with her by accident, and that she  has a medical card for its legal use in Arizona.

Right-wing filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza argued that the United States has acted analogously to Russia in prosecuting those who engaged in a fascist insurrection to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Brent Scher, executive editor of the Free Beacon, reacted to the news with mocking commentary about the well-documented fact that WNBA athletes often play basketball in Russia in the offseason to supplement their income, which is far below their male counterparts in the United States.

Gettr CEO and former Trump adviser Jason Miller attacked the Biden administration implicitly.

Conservative pundit Ari Fleischer made the same point, arguing that Biden “doesn’t have leverage around the world anymore.” In 2003, Fleischer served as press secretary under George W. Bush and helped the administration sell the country on the Iraq War, one of the most globally destabilizing actions of the last 30 years. 

Griner has been held by Russia since her arrest in February. The Biden administration is reportedly considering a prisoner swap to have her and fellow U.S. citizen Paul Wehlan returned to the United States.

The Latest

  1. Tucker Carlson says people who can’t vote in-person don’t “have a right to participate in democracy”

    Video & Audio 08/19/22 9:06 PM EDT

  2. Bloomberg reports that state officials are preparing for social media vitriol to spill over into real-world violence this midterm season

    Article 08/19/22 5:32 PM EDT

  3. Tucker Carlson and Fox’s “news” side lay out white nationalist platform for the GOP

    Article 08/19/22 5:03 PM EDT

  4. Trump’s right-wing media flunkies call Pence a “coward” for not criticizing the FBI after Mar-a-Lago search

    Article 08/19/22 4:40 PM EDT

  5. Shark attack! Fox News blames conservationists for a problem caused by climate change

    Article 08/19/22 4:30 PM EDT

Pagination

  • Current page 1
  • …
  • Next page ››

In This Article

  • Fox News

    Fox-News-MMFA-Tag.png
Comments
0 Comments
Share Count
0 Shares

Related

  1. Tucker Carlson says people who can’t vote in-person don’t “have a right to participate in democracy”

    Video & Audio 08/19/22 9:06 PM EDT

  2. Tucker Carlson and Fox’s “news” side lay out white nationalist platform for the GOP

    Article 08/19/22 5:03 PM EDT

  3. Trump’s right-wing media flunkies call Pence a “coward” for not criticizing the FBI after Mar-a-Lago search

    Article 08/19/22 4:40 PM EDT

Media Matters for America

Footer menu

  • About
  • Contact
  • Corrections
  • Submissions
  • Jobs
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Social Media Menu

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

© 2022 Media Matters for America