Cory Franklin (jewishworldreview.com) "Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde once wrote that ”life imitates art far more often than art imitates life.” A perfect illustration of that aphorism is the story of WNBA star Brittney Griner, with its enriching theme about patriotism rediscovered.
"In 2019, Griner, a seven-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist, made news when she ventured outside the sports pages and opined that the WNBA should stop playing the national anthem before games.
"To highlight a veiled critique of America, she vowed not to leave the locker room when the anthem was being performed. In an interview with The Arizona Republic, she said, ”I honestly feel we should not play the national anthem during our season. I think we should take that much of a stand.”
"The story took an unexpected turn last year, when she was arrested at the Moscow airport for having a vape cartridge containing hashish oil in her luggage. After languishing for almost 10 months in a Russian prison, she was returned to the U.S. as part of a prisoner swap, controversial because she was traded for a notorious Russian arms dealer.
"That is life; where is art?
"While Griner was in the Russian prison, her plight resembled that of a fictional character, Philip Nolan, the protagonist of an 1863 short story by Edward Everett Hale, ”The Man Without a Country.” In the story, which is an appeal for national unity during the Civil War, Nolan is an Army officer who becomes involved in an 1807 plot to overthrow the U.S. government. Captured, tried and convicted of treason, Nolan excoriates the assembled crowd in the courtroom before being sentenced, ”Damn the United States! I wish I may never hear of her again!”
"The judge takes Nolan at his word, literally, and sentences him to spend the rest of his life aboard Navy warships, banning him from ever setting foot in the country again. The crew of every ship Nolan shuttles between is ordered not to mention the United States to him and to cut out every article about America in the newspapers and books provided to him. Each time he inquires about the United States, the men on the ship must remain silent.
"For the next 55 years, Nolan is a man without a country, something akin to Griner's situation before the prisoner swap saved her from a nine-year sentence in a tiny, miserable Russian cell." . . .
The footage shows Griner, 32, inside a warehouse at the IK-2 female penal colony in Mordovia. She was moved to the penal colony, which is located roughly seven hours from Moscow, in mid-November.
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| Brittney Griner Seen Working in
Russian Penal Colony in New Footage |
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