American football star Megan Rapinoe paid a silent tribute on Thursday to basketball player Brittney Griner, tried and detained in Russia since February, during a ceremony at the White House.
Present alongside other personalities to receive the Presidential Medal for Freedom, the highest American civilian honor, she wore a white trouser suit with the initials "
BG
" inscribed and an embroidered flower.
Joe Biden has made Brittney Griner's release a '
priority
'
Brittney Griner, herself an international basketball star, has been detained since February in Russia and pleaded guilty on Thursday to drug smuggling in a case closely followed by Washington amid heightened tensions with Moscow.
The double Olympic medalist (2016 and 2020) and WNBA champion, the female equivalent of the prestigious NBA, faces up to ten years in prison after being arrested in possession of a cannabis-based vaporizer liquid.
While she pleaded guilty, she said she had no intention of "
violating Russian law
".
Read alsoBrittney Griner, American basketball player who has become a bargaining chip for Moscow
This affair is part of a context of strong bilateral tensions linked to the conflict in Ukraine, many observers suspecting Russia of using this case for a future exchange of prisoners with the United States.
Before the start of the second hearing in Griner's trial on Thursday, Russian diplomats denounced the "
public hype
" of American leaders around his case, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov believing that it "
parasited
" the case.
Joe Biden has meanwhile made the release of Brittney Griner a "
priority
".
According to White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre, the US president "
is going to do everything he can to make sure she gets home safely
."
