Charles Barkley Calls Brittney Griner's Situation 'Unfortunate': 'We Hope She Comes Home Soon'
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As Brittney Griner nears 160 days since she was first arrested and imprisoned in Russia, Charles Barkley is sending his support to the WNBA star.
"It's a really unfortunate situation," the 59-year-old NBA MVP tells PEOPLE. "We hope she comes home soon. It's really sad and unfortunate."
The 31-year-old Phoenix Mercury star has been jailed in Russia since Feb. 17, when she was arrested for carrying vape cartridges containing hash oil through the Moscow airport. At the time, Griner was on her way back to the U.S. after playing for a Russian team during the WNBA's off-season. She pleaded guilty to the charges on July 7, but said that she was packing quickly and did not mean to break the law, doing so "inadvertently."
Griner's wife Cherelle has pleaded tirelessly with everyone from Rev. Al Sharpton to President Joe Biden to get the the two-time Olympic gold medalist home, and Barkley says he understands why.
"It really just shows you, America is by far and away, the greatest place in the world to be," Barkley says. "Listen, it's not perfect here. It's not perfect at all. We've got a lot of work to do, but this is by far and away, the greatest place in the world to live."
Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP/Shutterstock Brittney Griner appears in court Tuesday
The TNT sports analyst feels for Griner, who would be playing ball right now on the same court where he played for four years as the star of the Phoenix Suns.
"I mean, to have this young woman in jail for months and months and months over some silly couple ounces of hashish oil, it's just really sad," he says.
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Barkley adds that Griner's situation will likely make players more hesitant to join overseas leagues, where they often go in the off-season to support their WNBA salaries.
"When you go to a foreign country, you don't know what could happen in the judicial system," Barkley says. "So it's a really unfortunate thing, and man, I just hope she's home soon."
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Allen Berezovsky/FilmMagic Charles Barkley
Barkley, who was discussing his Redmont Vodka line, hopes Griner will be back on the court soon so he can chime in when it's his turn to commentate on the sport and city he loves the most.
"I love getting paid to watch basketball," Barkley says. "I got so lucky and blessed to be able to do this for a living. I'm going to watch anyway, but to get paid to watch these great, great players play?"
