ESPN’s annual ESPY awards show tonight will maintain their woke tradition by honoring admitted law-breaker Brittney Griner, a black, lesbian pro basketball player. In case you haven’t paid attention to the barrage of headlines on this WNBA basketball player, she’s been in a Russian jail since February and recently pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis while attempting to board a plane in Moscow.
Woke media have gone to ridiculous lengths the past few months maintaining that – somehow – the lesbian Griner is a victim of American marginalization of female athletes and LGBT people and was forced to play basketball in Russia to make extra money during the WNBA’s offseason.
Thus, the ESPY virtue signalers will supposedly make things right by honoring her tonight. Natalie Oganesyan, writer for The Wrap blog, confirmed the attention Griner will get on ESPN tonight.:
Most importantly, the show will touch on pressing issues in the world of sports, including WNBA star Brittney Griner’s detention and arrest in Russia, where she currently faces up to 10 years in prison for pleading guilty to possessing cannabis vape cartridges that are banned in the country. The athlete has been detained since February and her trial has been adjourned until later this month.
ESPN content executive editor-at-large Rob King said the Griner tribute will be “an important moment of reflection in the show. The show has always been a showcase for athletes to speak about anything they want, and (host) Steph (Curry) and representatives of Brittney Griner’s league, the WNBA, will have a moment in the show that will be an important reminder of the degree to which the athletes we cover are very present in serious and urgent matters and Brittney Griner’s arrest and detention has been top of mind.”
That’s a fancy way of dancing around the reality of the Griner story. As noted above, she pleaded guilty to drug charges in a Russian court and told a judge she had no intent to break the law last winter when airport security found vape cartridges with cannabis oil in her possession:
I’d like to plead guilty, your honor. But there was not intent. I didn’t want to break the law. I’d like to give my testimony later. I need time to prepare.
Griner’s behavior was reckless and illegal. Yet she’s become a cause célèbre to the wide woke world of sports. The WNBA features “BG42” decals on all of its team’s courts this season. The woke league also named her an honorary all-star starter for this season. If this all sounds like over-the-top star treatment for a wrongdoer, it is.
The U.S. government is attempting to secure Griner’s release with a potential prisoner swap. Meanwhile, the left-stream media jostle with each other to see who can use her story to score the most pathetic virtue signaling points. ESPN will score hollow points in that regard tonight.
