Marc Fogel throws ceremonial first pitch at Pirates home opener after release from Russian prison
Marc Fogel
, a Butler County native who spent over three years in a Russian prison before he was freed earlier this year, threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Pirates home opener on Friday.
The Pirates are back at PNC Park on Friday afternoon, facing off against the Yankees. Before the game started at 4:12 p.m., Fogel threw the ceremonial first pitch.
Since
coming back home
, Fogel
has been honored at a Penguins game
and
he was invited by First Lady Melania Trump
to President Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress.
While attending the Penguins game last month, Fogel released a statement thanking Pittsburgh's "warm, close-knit community that has rallied around our family during the toughest of times."
"This incredible kindness shown by the Pittsburgh sports teams, along with the tremendous help from our local media, community leaders, politicians, artists, academics, advocates and activists strengthened my mentality to keep on keepin' on like a true Pittsburgher," he wrote.
Fogel was detained in Moscow in August 2021
when he and his wife flew back to Russia for their 10th and final year of teaching in the country. His family said he was carrying 17 grams of cannabis for medical reasons to treat chronic back pain.
He was transferred to a hard labor colony
after getting a sentence of 14 years.
Over the years, Fogel's family and lawmakers pushed to bring him home. The White House negotiated Fogel's release
as part of a prisoner swap
in February.
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