“Hardly worth the tag” – Twitteratis LASH OUT as Brittney Griner makes TIME’s 100 Most Influential People for 2023
How fans reacted to Griner’s inclusion on Time 100 list
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Brittney Griner on the cover of TIME magazine (Via TIME)
Brittney Griner is one of the six athletes who made the Time 100 list of the most influential people for 2023. The Phoenix Mercury star and Olympic gold medalist was honored for her resilience and courage after being “wrongfully detained” and spending 10 months in a Russian prison for possession of hashish oil while playing overseas.
Griner was arrested at a Russian airport in February 2022 after Russian officials said they found hashish oil in her luggage. She pleaded guilty to the drug charges in a Russian court in July and stated that she did not intend to break the law. She was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony in early August and had begun serving time in a penal colony in the Mordovia region of Russia.
Griner was released from Russian imprisonment in December after the U.S. reached a prisoner swap deal, exchanging Griner for international arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Griner’s ordeal brought attention to issues like the inequities in pay for women athletes, which sometimes compel them to play overseas in dangerous situations to maximize their financial worth. It also highlighted the plight of dozens of Americans wrongfully detained around the world, and Griner continues to use her platform as a sports superstar to advocate for their release.
Griner’s resilience and courage were praised by her friend and fellow WNBA player Sue Bird, who wrote a tribute for her in Time magazine. “Brittney Griner’s story represents so much,” Bird wrote. “First off, it’s about resilience. BG spent nearly 10 months in Russian prison, wrongfully detained, but never lost hope or her sense of humor. She was BG, through and through, throughout her horrible ordeal.”
Bird also noted that Griner’s story speaks to the power of the women who rallied around her—Black women, members of the LGBTQ+ community, their WNBA community—and who made certain her name was never forgotten, that she’d return home. “These are the women who get sh-t done,” Bird wrote.
How Twitter reacted to Brittney Griner’s inclusion?
While many fans and fellow athletes congratulated Griner on making the Time 100 list, some Twitter users were not impressed by her inclusion. They criticized her for breaking the law, questioned her influence and impact, and suggested that other athletes deserved recognition more than her.
Griner has not responded to any of these negative tweets, but she has expressed her gratitude for being on the Time 100 list on her Instagram account.
“I’m honored and humbled to be on this list with so many amazing people,” she wrote. She then added, “Thank you Time for recognizing my story and my voice. Thank you Sue Bird for your kind words and your friendship. Thank you everyone who supported me and helped me get through this difficult time. I’m back and I’m ready to ball.”
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Ankush Singh
(616 Articles Published)