When Cherelle Griner, resplendent in joyful red, took the podium from President  Biden at the White House, she said all of the hard things.Biden already had confirmed with a straightforward and powerful tweet — “Moments ago I spoke to Brittney Griner. She is safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way home.” — that the basketball star’s nearly 10-month detention in Russia was, indeed over. 

He gave brief remarks verifying the news, as well as the fact that US businessman Paul Whelan, imprisoned in Russia on charges of espionage (which he has denied) since December, 2018, was not, as the US had hoped, part of the deal.

The emotional complications of such a moment were left to Cherelle Griner to express.“So today my family is whole, but as you all are aware, there’s so many other families who are not whole,” she told the press. “And so, BG is not here to say this, but I will gladly speak on her behalf and say that BG and I will remain committed to the work of getting every American home.”