Brittney Griner Changes Tune on National Anthem in First Game Back Since Russian Imprisonment
Here are two seemingly competing statements of fact that are both 100 percent true:
- America is not a perfect country.
- America is the best country.
Indeed, America, particularly with its current brand of awful leadership, is far from perfect. Crime is raging in virtually every major city, the media is bought and paid for, government overreach is rampant, and the everyday cost of living is soaring.
Despite all of those calamities, there’s a reason that people, by hook or crook, want to enter this country so badly.
Namely, the United States, for all of its warts, is still the best country in the world — and it’s not particularly close. The freedoms this country provides (ironically to the people who claim to be most aggrieved) are second to none.
For as much as the LGBT lobby likes to whine and complain about its treatment in America, it’s inarguable that there are few countries, if any, that are more tolerant of the far-left’s views on gender and sexuality.
After all, this is the country that Bud Light, the most American Belgian company this side of Brussels, felt was the perfect market for an ad campaign with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney (though that move has royally backfired).
America is tolerant to a fault.
But don’t take this writer’s word for it — take it from black lesbian WNBA star Brittney Griner.
That name likely sounds familiar to you, someone who has never watched a WNBA game in your life, because Griner rose to infamy after being detained in Russia for possessing cannabis oil. The 32-year-old Phoenix Mercury center was imprisoned for nearly 10 months.
She was returned to the U.S. in a highly scrutinized prisoner exchange for a notorious Russian arms dealer in December.
That harrowing ordeal has given Griner, a well-documented leftist, a new appreciation for her home country, at least based on comments she made after her official return to the basketball court.
Griner scored 10 points for the Mercury in a preseason game on Friday, her first since the Russia scandal.
According to Fox News, Griner didn’t just show off her game — she also showed off a newfound appreciation for America.
“Hearing the national anthem, it definitely hit different,” Griner said after the game, referring to the ceremonial playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the tilt against the Los Angeles Sparks.
“It’s like when you go for the Olympics, you’re sitting there, about to get gold put on your neck, the flags are going up, and the anthem is playing. It just hits different.”
Privileged basketball player Brittney Griner, who once argued that the National Anthem shouldn’t be played, has finally found some respect for her great country.
On Friday evening, Griner spoke out after she stood for the National Anthem.
“Hearing the national anthem, it… pic.twitter.com/2dIrdtKsld
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 13, 2023
Those remarks are a sharp departure from past comments Griner has made about America, and the national anthem in particular.
“I honestly feel we should not play the national anthem during our season,” Griner said during the height of the 2020 George Floyd riots. “I think we should take that much of a stand.”
Going from “we shouldn’t play the anthem” to “the national anthem just hits different” is quite the turnaround, but a welcome one.
Look, America, as spelled out above, is far from perfect. But it’s still the best and freest country by a mile.
It’s sad that it took 10 months in a gulag for Griner to realize that — but at least it appears she finally has realized it.
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