Brittney Griner.Photo: Christian Petersen/GettyAs soon asBrittney Grinerboarded the plane to return home, the WNBA star made “a personal connection” with each person on the flight, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens said.Carstens appeared onState of the Unionwith CNN’s Dana Bash, where he said 32-year-old Griner was eager to talk to the officials aboard the plane after she was swapped in aone-to-one prisoner deal with Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.Carstens said that once the athlete “finally got on to the U.S. plane,” he offered her space to “decompress” from her previous 10 months in Russian custody, but Griner wasn’t interested in spending much time on her own.“And she said, ‘Oh no. I’ve been in prison for 10 months now listening to Russian, I want to talk. But first of all, who are these guys?’ “Griner then “moved right past” Carstens and “went to every member on that crew, looked them in the eyes, shook their hands and asked about them and got their names, making a personal connection with them,” he recalled.“It was really amazing,” Carstens said. He described Griner as “an intelligent, passionate, compassionate, humble, interesting person, a patriotic person, but above all, authentic.“Gregory Shamus/GettyNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Carstens estimated that Griner “probably spent 12 hours just talking” over the course of the 18 hour flight from the United Arab Emirates, where the swap occurred, to San Antonio. “We talked about everything under the sun,” he revealed.For more on Brittney Griner, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day.However, Carstens said his team still has “work to do” asAmerican Paul Whelan remains in Russian custody.“So as I am shaking Brittney’s hands and we are going to the aircraft and having this great conversation, my brain is already thinking about Paul Whelan,” said Carstens. “What can we do to get him back? What’s the next move? What is the strategy? How can we adapt?“President Joe Biden remains"focused” on freeing Whelan as well, said Carstens.“I said, ‘Paul, you have the commitment of this President. The President’s focused, the secretary of state’s focused. I’m certainly focused, and we’re gonna bring you home. And I reminded him, I said, ‘Paul, when you were in the Marines, and I was in the Army, they always reminded you to keep the faith’ and I said, ‘Keep the faith. We’re coming to get you,’ " Carstens told Bash.
Brittney Griner.Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty
As soon asBrittney Grinerboarded the plane to return home, the WNBA star made “a personal connection” with each person on the flight, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens said.Carstens appeared onState of the Unionwith CNN’s Dana Bash, where he said 32-year-old Griner was eager to talk to the officials aboard the plane after she was swapped in aone-to-one prisoner deal with Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.Carstens said that once the athlete “finally got on to the U.S. plane,” he offered her space to “decompress” from her previous 10 months in Russian custody, but Griner wasn’t interested in spending much time on her own.“And she said, ‘Oh no. I’ve been in prison for 10 months now listening to Russian, I want to talk. But first of all, who are these guys?’ “Griner then “moved right past” Carstens and “went to every member on that crew, looked them in the eyes, shook their hands and asked about them and got their names, making a personal connection with them,” he recalled.“It was really amazing,” Carstens said. He described Griner as “an intelligent, passionate, compassionate, humble, interesting person, a patriotic person, but above all, authentic.“Gregory Shamus/GettyNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Carstens estimated that Griner “probably spent 12 hours just talking” over the course of the 18 hour flight from the United Arab Emirates, where the swap occurred, to San Antonio. “We talked about everything under the sun,” he revealed.For more on Brittney Griner, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day.However, Carstens said his team still has “work to do” asAmerican Paul Whelan remains in Russian custody.“So as I am shaking Brittney’s hands and we are going to the aircraft and having this great conversation, my brain is already thinking about Paul Whelan,” said Carstens. “What can we do to get him back? What’s the next move? What is the strategy? How can we adapt?“President Joe Biden remains"focused” on freeing Whelan as well, said Carstens.“I said, ‘Paul, you have the commitment of this President. The President’s focused, the secretary of state’s focused. I’m certainly focused, and we’re gonna bring you home. And I reminded him, I said, ‘Paul, when you were in the Marines, and I was in the Army, they always reminded you to keep the faith’ and I said, ‘Keep the faith. We’re coming to get you,’ " Carstens told Bash.
As soon asBrittney Grinerboarded the plane to return home, the WNBA star made “a personal connection” with each person on the flight, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens said.
Carstens appeared onState of the Unionwith CNN’s Dana Bash, where he said 32-year-old Griner was eager to talk to the officials aboard the plane after she was swapped in aone-to-one prisoner deal with Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Carstens said that once the athlete “finally got on to the U.S. plane,” he offered her space to “decompress” from her previous 10 months in Russian custody, but Griner wasn’t interested in spending much time on her own.
“And she said, ‘Oh no. I’ve been in prison for 10 months now listening to Russian, I want to talk. But first of all, who are these guys?’ "
Griner then “moved right past” Carstens and “went to every member on that crew, looked them in the eyes, shook their hands and asked about them and got their names, making a personal connection with them,” he recalled.
“It was really amazing,” Carstens said. He described Griner as “an intelligent, passionate, compassionate, humble, interesting person, a patriotic person, but above all, authentic.”
Gregory Shamus/Getty
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Carstens estimated that Griner “probably spent 12 hours just talking” over the course of the 18 hour flight from the United Arab Emirates, where the swap occurred, to San Antonio. “We talked about everything under the sun,” he revealed.
For more on Brittney Griner, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day.
However, Carstens said his team still has “work to do” asAmerican Paul Whelan remains in Russian custody.
“So as I am shaking Brittney’s hands and we are going to the aircraft and having this great conversation, my brain is already thinking about Paul Whelan,” said Carstens. “What can we do to get him back? What’s the next move? What is the strategy? How can we adapt?”
President Joe Biden remains"focused” on freeing Whelan as well, said Carstens.
“I said, ‘Paul, you have the commitment of this President. The President’s focused, the secretary of state’s focused. I’m certainly focused, and we’re gonna bring you home. And I reminded him, I said, ‘Paul, when you were in the Marines, and I was in the Army, they always reminded you to keep the faith’ and I said, ‘Keep the faith. We’re coming to get you,’ " Carstens told Bash.
source: people.com
