On Tuesday, Russian official media posted the first photo of Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) star Brittney Griner in detention since she was seized at the airport last month on suspicion of possessing a cannabis-filled vape pen.
The two-time Olympic basketball champion was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport after returning from a two-week break from playing in New York at the end of February.
Her specific arrest date is unknown, and neither are her current whereabouts. According to reports, she was supposed to perform on February 20, and she may have been on an aircraft that arrived at the airport on February 17.
Griner, who is a member of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, has spent the winters in Russia for the past seven years, earning more than three times her WNBA pay. She last played for UMMC Ekaterinburg on January 29, before the league went on a two-week hiatus in early February for the FIBA World Cup qualification competitions. Andrei Kozitsyn, a mineral entrepreneur who is one of Putin’s wealthiest cronies, is a supporter of UMMC Ekaterinburg, reports say.
The Russian Federal Customs Service have released this video in which airport security are seen going through the luggage of a passenger identified as Brittney Griner. pic.twitter.com/gHJ8XoMYvF
– Bryan Armen Graham (@BryanAGraham) March 5, 2022
She is not the only American female athlete who has flown to Russia to supplement her income. This winter, over a dozen WNBA players, including league MVP Jonquel Jones, Courtney Vandersloot, and Allie Quigley of the champion Chicago Sky, were playing in Russia and Ukraine. The WNBA announced on Saturday that except for Griner, all the players had left both nations.
She is the only one left there and this has triggered outrage on social media.
Griner’s detention comes at a historically perilous time, as Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine continues. As a result, the US and its Western allies have turned their backs on Moscow, imposing a slew of sanctions and public censure. Some people have speculated that Russia was using Griner as a bargaining chip in the battle.
The WNBA has released a statement saying it will help Griner get home, although it is unclear what is being done. President Biden is aware of her case, according to the White House.
