Why is "Brittney Griner Hates America" trending: All you need to know

"Brittney Griner hates America" has become a huge trend since news emerged of her release. The WNBA star has been detained in Russia since February 2022 for drug possession. Many have tried to protest for her, primarily because they felt the situation wasn't getting enough media attention.

In an attempt to get her home, United States President Joe Biden has been trying to work out a swap deal for Brittney Griner with the Russian authorities. Reports have stated that Russia will get back Viktor Bout, an arms dealer nicknamed "The Merchant of Death."

After nearly a year in a Russian prison, Brittney Griner finally returns home to be reunited with her friends and loved ones.

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Why is 'Brittney Griner Hates America' trending?

Following the news of the prisoner swap, "Brittney Griner hates America" continues to trend. This stems from a comment she made during the 2020 WNBA season.

In the summer of 2020, Brittney Griner spoke out about removing the national anthem from the start of games. On top of that, she remained in the locker room until it was done playing and then took the floor with her team.

“I honestly feel we should not play the national anthem during our season,” Griner said, per The Arizona Republic. "I think we should take that much of a stand.”

On top of not wanting it in the WNBA, Griner believes the national anthem doesn't need to be in sports in general.

“I personally don't think it belongs in sports. ... Black people didn't have rights at that point,” Griner said of the creation of the Star-Spangled Banner. “It's hard disrespecting a song that didn't even represent all Americans when it was first made.”

Following these comments, the narrative started to form that Brittney Griner hates America.

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News station takes shot at Brittney Griner

As expected, most did not take well to Brittney Griner's comments regarding the national anthem. One news station also used it as an opportunity to feed into the notion that "Brittney Griner hates America."

Back in August, Brittney Griner received her sentence from a Russian court. At the time, talk about a possible prisoner swap had started to make rounds online. In response to this, an anchor at "One America News" referred to the WNBA star as an "American hating lesbian pothead."

"A trade. A convicted Russian arms dealer a.k.a the merchant of death in exchange for an America hating lesbian pothead."