GOP candidate demands Brittney Griner get sent back to Russian prison

Republican candidate for Missouri Secretary of State Valentina Gomez – who rages at all things “weak and gay” – is demanding that WNBA player Brittney Griner be sent to “rot” in a Russian prison because she’s an “unpatriotic lesbian.”

Brittney Griner should be rotting in a Russian prison,” Gomez said in a video posted to social media, “not going to the Olympics.”

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She said they will help her stop the “sexualization, grooming & indoctrination of children.”

Griner was arrested in Russia in 2022 on cannabis charges and sentenced to 10 years in a labor camp. President Joe Biden got her returned to the U.S. in a prisoner exchange.

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“Caitlin Clark is the only reason why we even watch women’s basketball,” Gomez continued. “She deserves to go to the Olympics, unlike this unpatriotic lesbian.”

“The Olympics are about meritocracy, not DEI,” Gomez wrote in her post of the video on X. “DEI,” or “diversity, equality, and inclusion,” has become a rallying cry for rightwingers who oppose efforts to increase diversity and, often, a not-so-subtle code word for Black people. Griner is Black and Clark is white.

🇺🇸@CaitlinClark22 America and I have your back. Bring back Marine Paul Whelan and send @brittneygriner back to Russia. The Olympics are about meritocracy, not DEI. pic.twitter.com/dTiLSqOssu

— Valentina Gomez (@ValentinaForSOS) June 10, 2024

Clark, who plays for the Indiana Fever, was shoulder-checked by Chicago Sky player Chennedy Carter, who is Black, during a game on June 1. The foul was later upgraded to a Flagrant 1.

While fouls are not uncommon in basketball and are rarely something that causes an internet uproar, this foul became the subject of immense discourse on the right, often portraying Clark as the victim of a violent crime. The conservative Chicago Tribune editorial board called the shoulder-check “an assault.”

Even Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) weighed in, claiming, “Clark’s exceptionalism has been met with resentment and repeated attacks from fellow players.”

When the U.S. women’s Olympic basketball team roster was announced, many fans were outraged that Clark, a rookie, was “snubbed.”

This will be Griner’s third Olympic games afters she led the U.S. team to victory in 2016 in Rio and got a gold medal at the Tokyo games in 2021.

Gomez’s primary election will be on August 6

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