#POLITICALPRISONER
Brittney Griner’s teammates break silence amid Russia detention
USA Basketball teammates express support for Griner after weeks in detention, say, ‘It could have been any of us’.
Published On 1 Apr 2022
Brittney Griner’s teammates have broken their silence amid the US basketball player’s continued detention in Russia, saying they are hopeful that everything is being done to get her home safely.
Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and All-Star centre in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), has been detained in Russia since mid-February on charges of carrying vape cartridges that contained cannabis oil in her luggage.
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WNBA star Griner in ‘good condition’ in Russian detention: US
WNBA’s Brittney Griner arrest extended to May 19: Russian media
WNBA star Brittney Griner arrested in Russia on drug charges
Her detention comes at a time of heightened tensions between the United States and Russia over the continuing war in Ukraine, and US officials have kept a low profile publicly amid concerns Griner could be used as a pawn in the dispute.
The WNBA also has said little publicly about Griner’s detention, though the league said in a statement on March 23 that it was continuing to work with government officials and others to get Griner home.
“We’re not talking about BG the basketball player, we’re talking about BG the wife, the daughter, the sister, the human being,” A’ja Wilson, the 2020 WNBA most valuable player and Griner’s teammate on the US national team, said on Friday at USA Basketball training camp.
USA Basketball teammates express support for Griner after weeks in detention, say, ‘It could have been any of us’.
Two-time Olympic gold medallist Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia since mid-February on drug charges
[File: Brian Snyder/Reuters]
Published On 1 Apr 2022
Brittney Griner’s teammates have broken their silence amid the US basketball player’s continued detention in Russia, saying they are hopeful that everything is being done to get her home safely.
Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and All-Star centre in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), has been detained in Russia since mid-February on charges of carrying vape cartridges that contained cannabis oil in her luggage.
KEEP READINGl
WNBA star Griner in ‘good condition’ in Russian detention: US
WNBA’s Brittney Griner arrest extended to May 19: Russian media
WNBA star Brittney Griner arrested in Russia on drug charges
Her detention comes at a time of heightened tensions between the United States and Russia over the continuing war in Ukraine, and US officials have kept a low profile publicly amid concerns Griner could be used as a pawn in the dispute.
The WNBA also has said little publicly about Griner’s detention, though the league said in a statement on March 23 that it was continuing to work with government officials and others to get Griner home.
“We’re not talking about BG the basketball player, we’re talking about BG the wife, the daughter, the sister, the human being,” A’ja Wilson, the 2020 WNBA most valuable player and Griner’s teammate on the US national team, said on Friday at USA Basketball training camp.
Griner is a two-time Olympic gold medallist and WNBA All-Star
[Mark Ralston/Pool via Reuters]
“That’s what I’m caring about. I get the silence and you don’t want to talk about it. I can’t even imagine to put myself in that situation. It’s tough,” Wilson said. “Hopefully, everyone’s doing what they need to do to make sure she gets home safe.”
Last month, US Department of State spokesman Ned Price said an American diplomat in Moscow was granted consular access to Griner and found her to be in “good condition“. Price added, “We will continue to do everything we can to see to it that she is treated fairly throughout this ordeal.”
But a Moscow court in mid-March extended Griner’s detention until May 19, Russia’s state-run TASS news agency reported – and concerns have persisted about the WNBA star’s fate.
An official with a Russian agency that monitors prison conditions said last month that the only problem the six-foot, nine-inches (206cm) Griner faces in detention is her height. “The beds in the cell are clearly intended for a person of lesser height,” Ekaterina Kalugina of the Public Monitoring Commission told TASS.
Griner, who plays for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, was in Russia to play club basketball before the US season resumed, a common practice for players, who can earn much higher salaries in foreign leagues than on domestic teams.
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The 31-year-old played in Russia for the last seven years in the winter, earning more than $1m per season — more than quadruple her WNBA salary.
“That’s what I’m caring about. I get the silence and you don’t want to talk about it. I can’t even imagine to put myself in that situation. It’s tough,” Wilson said. “Hopefully, everyone’s doing what they need to do to make sure she gets home safe.”
Last month, US Department of State spokesman Ned Price said an American diplomat in Moscow was granted consular access to Griner and found her to be in “good condition“. Price added, “We will continue to do everything we can to see to it that she is treated fairly throughout this ordeal.”
But a Moscow court in mid-March extended Griner’s detention until May 19, Russia’s state-run TASS news agency reported – and concerns have persisted about the WNBA star’s fate.
An official with a Russian agency that monitors prison conditions said last month that the only problem the six-foot, nine-inches (206cm) Griner faces in detention is her height. “The beds in the cell are clearly intended for a person of lesser height,” Ekaterina Kalugina of the Public Monitoring Commission told TASS.
Griner, who plays for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, was in Russia to play club basketball before the US season resumed, a common practice for players, who can earn much higher salaries in foreign leagues than on domestic teams.
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US politics, Canada’s multiculturalism, South America's geopolitical rise—we bring you the stories that matter.
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By signing up, you agree to our Privacy PolicyThe 31-year-old played in Russia for the last seven years in the winter, earning more than $1m per season — more than quadruple her WNBA salary.
Breanna Stewart of the WNBA’s Seattle Storm says women basketball players need to be valued more in the US [Eric Gay/AP Photo]
USA Basketball and Seattle Storm WNBA player Breanna Stewart, who also earns more than $1m to play in Russia, seized on this deeper problem in comments about Griner’s detention earlier this week.
“The big thing is the fact that we have to go over there. It was BG, but it could have been anybody,” Stewart said from the US training camp in Minneapolis. “WNBA players need to be valued in their country and they won’t have to play overseas.”
That was echoed by Angel McCoughtry, another two-time Olympic gold medallist who plays for the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx. “People are saying she’s 6-foot-9, she’s different. It’s really not about that,” McCoughtry said on Wednesday. “It could have been any of us.”
Meanwhile, USA Basketball coach Cheryl Reeve said on Friday that the US national team and the WNBA are “not going to forget about Brittney Griner”.
“Brittney’s not here, we’re going to do the things she would have done. She’s very philanthropic. Try to honour her in that way until the highest level of government can work this out,” Reeve said.
USA Basketball and Seattle Storm WNBA player Breanna Stewart, who also earns more than $1m to play in Russia, seized on this deeper problem in comments about Griner’s detention earlier this week.
“The big thing is the fact that we have to go over there. It was BG, but it could have been anybody,” Stewart said from the US training camp in Minneapolis. “WNBA players need to be valued in their country and they won’t have to play overseas.”
That was echoed by Angel McCoughtry, another two-time Olympic gold medallist who plays for the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx. “People are saying she’s 6-foot-9, she’s different. It’s really not about that,” McCoughtry said on Wednesday. “It could have been any of us.”
Meanwhile, USA Basketball coach Cheryl Reeve said on Friday that the US national team and the WNBA are “not going to forget about Brittney Griner”.
“Brittney’s not here, we’re going to do the things she would have done. She’s very philanthropic. Try to honour her in that way until the highest level of government can work this out,” Reeve said.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
By DOUG FEINBERG
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USA National Basketball Team's A'ja Wilson, center, teammate to Brittney Griner who is imprisoned in Russia, and teammates take part in a spring training practice session, Friday, April 1, 2022, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A’ja Wilson wishes that she and her USA Basketball teammates could do more to help Brittney Griner right now.
They’ve all been straddling the line of trying not to say anything that could potentially hurt the WNBA star’s case as she’s still imprisoned in Russia on drug allegations, but also wanting Griner and her family to know that they care about her.
“We’re not not talking BG the basketball player, we’re talking about BG the wife, the daughter, the sister the human being,” Wilson, the 2020 WNBA MVP, said Friday at USA Basketball training camp.
“That’s what I’m caring about. I get the silence and you don’t want to talk about it. I can’t even imagine to put myself in that situation. It’s tough,” she said.
Griner, one of many stars who play in Russia during the WNBA offseason, was detained after arriving at a Moscow airport in mid-February. Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges that allegedly contained oil derived from cannabis, which could carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The 6-foot-9 Phoenix Mercury center was returning to the country after the Russian League took a break for the FIBA World Cup qualifying tournament. The two-time Olympic gold medalist recently had her detention extended to the middle of May.
“Hopefully everyone’s doing what they need to do to make sure she get’s home safe,” Wilson said. “That’s going to be the top priority of all of us. I know it’s tough and hard.”
Players have been keeping discussions about how to best help Griner within their community. WNBA players have been very cohesive in the past when rallying behind issues such as voter registration or the Black Lives Matters movement.
For the first few weeks following Griner’s detention, it was decided that it was clearly better for them to say less. That’s changed over the last few days as players have been more available and willing to talk.
“I can guarantee you this, this group here and women of the WNBA , we’re not going to forget about Brittney Griner,” USA Basketball coach Cheryl Reeve said. “Brittney’s not here, we’re going to do the things she would have done. She’s very philanthropic. Try to honor her in that way until the highest level of government can work this out.”
Breanna Stewart has stepped up to help The Phoenix Rescue Mission, a charity that Griner has been involved with for a long time.
“While BG is away I wanted to support her and her charitable efforts and do what I can from an off-the-court standpoint to help her and her family,” Stewart said.
Griner’s legal team has been quietly seeking her release and has declined to speak out about the case since her arrest was made public.
Of the thousands of U.S. citizens arrested and jailed in prisons abroad, a small subset are designated by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained — a category that affords their cases an extra level of government attention and places them under the auspices of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs at the State Department. The U.S. government has not yet put Griner’s case in that category.
Griner is not the only American detained in Russia. Marine veteran Trevor Reed was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2020 on charges alleging that he assaulted police officers in Moscow. And Michigan corporate security executive Paul Whelan is serving a 16-year sentence on espionage charges that his family and the U.S. government have said are false. U.S. officials have publicly called for Moscow to release them.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A’ja Wilson wishes that she and her USA Basketball teammates could do more to help Brittney Griner right now.
They’ve all been straddling the line of trying not to say anything that could potentially hurt the WNBA star’s case as she’s still imprisoned in Russia on drug allegations, but also wanting Griner and her family to know that they care about her.
“We’re not not talking BG the basketball player, we’re talking about BG the wife, the daughter, the sister the human being,” Wilson, the 2020 WNBA MVP, said Friday at USA Basketball training camp.
“That’s what I’m caring about. I get the silence and you don’t want to talk about it. I can’t even imagine to put myself in that situation. It’s tough,” she said.
Griner, one of many stars who play in Russia during the WNBA offseason, was detained after arriving at a Moscow airport in mid-February. Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges that allegedly contained oil derived from cannabis, which could carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The 6-foot-9 Phoenix Mercury center was returning to the country after the Russian League took a break for the FIBA World Cup qualifying tournament. The two-time Olympic gold medalist recently had her detention extended to the middle of May.
“Hopefully everyone’s doing what they need to do to make sure she get’s home safe,” Wilson said. “That’s going to be the top priority of all of us. I know it’s tough and hard.”
Players have been keeping discussions about how to best help Griner within their community. WNBA players have been very cohesive in the past when rallying behind issues such as voter registration or the Black Lives Matters movement.
For the first few weeks following Griner’s detention, it was decided that it was clearly better for them to say less. That’s changed over the last few days as players have been more available and willing to talk.
“I can guarantee you this, this group here and women of the WNBA , we’re not going to forget about Brittney Griner,” USA Basketball coach Cheryl Reeve said. “Brittney’s not here, we’re going to do the things she would have done. She’s very philanthropic. Try to honor her in that way until the highest level of government can work this out.”
Breanna Stewart has stepped up to help The Phoenix Rescue Mission, a charity that Griner has been involved with for a long time.
“While BG is away I wanted to support her and her charitable efforts and do what I can from an off-the-court standpoint to help her and her family,” Stewart said.
Griner’s legal team has been quietly seeking her release and has declined to speak out about the case since her arrest was made public.
Of the thousands of U.S. citizens arrested and jailed in prisons abroad, a small subset are designated by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained — a category that affords their cases an extra level of government attention and places them under the auspices of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs at the State Department. The U.S. government has not yet put Griner’s case in that category.
Griner is not the only American detained in Russia. Marine veteran Trevor Reed was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2020 on charges alleging that he assaulted police officers in Moscow. And Michigan corporate security executive Paul Whelan is serving a 16-year sentence on espionage charges that his family and the U.S. government have said are false. U.S. officials have publicly called for Moscow to release them.
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