Atlanta Dream center Brittney Griner, for whom the Biden administration traded a Russian arms dealer known as the “Merchant of Death” in a prisoner exchange, appeared to hurl a racially driven expletive at Indiana Fever point guard Caitlin Clark on Thursday.
In the final minutes of the WNBA game between the Fever and the Dream, which ended with the Fever clinching an 81-76 victory, Griner appeared to mouth the words “trash” and “f***ing white girl” at Clark.
The moment came as Griner was leaving the court after her sixth foul, per Mediaite.
Former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines reacted to the clip as the moment went viral online.
“Brittney Griner appeared to call Caitlin Clark ‘trash’ and a ‘f***ing white girl’ after fouling out last night,” the conservative activist wrote.
“Just a reminder: this is who we traded for the Russian Merchant of Death. Now imagine if Clark had said the inverse.”
Brittney Griner appeared to call Caitlin Clark “trash” and a “f***ing white girl” after fouling out last night.
Just a reminder: this is who we traded for the Russian Merchant of Death.
Now imagine if Clark had said the inverse. pic.twitter.com/iMzf6JaYfo
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) May 24, 2025
As Gaines noted, the Biden administration freed Griner from a Russian prison, where she was sent while facing drug charges over a cannabis vape cartridge in her luggage, by returning Viktor Bout, an international arms dealer known as the “Merchant of Death.”
Is Clark experiencing extreme racism in the WNBA?
Bout was nearly halfway through serving a 25-year sentence in an Illinois prison after the Drug Enforcement Administration caught him in Thailand, per the New York Post.
Washington and Moscow carried out the prisoner exchange in Abu Dhabi.
Bout even had a chance to exchange a few words with Griner.
“I said, you know, ‘I wish you good luck,’ and, you know, and we both went to our, you know, planes,” he told ESPN.
Now-former President Joe Biden was criticized at the time for not including Paul Whelan, a former Marine accused of spying on the Russians and jailed since 2018, in the prisoner swap.
Whelan was released in another prisoner exchange in the summer of 2024, months before the presidential election.
Other social media users were perturbed that Griner had been exchanged for the arms dealer, especially in light of the recent race-driven incident.
“Biden traded the Merchant of Death for an America-hating snob… while we have soldiers still captured by Putin. It’s shameful, and I’m thankful Biden’s reign of terror is over!” Kentucky State Rep. TJ Roberts said in response to Gaines.
“It’s time to bring home EVERY American POW. They should be our top priority.”
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