On Feb. 17, Brittney Griner, Phoenix Mercury player, was detained in Russia after Sheremetyevo airport security confiscated what they suspected to be a vape cartridge containing THC Oil. At the time of the arrest, Russian officials did not release Griner’s identity, but Tass, which is a news agency in Russia, later confirmed it was the WNBA star.
Griner currently faces a charge of attempting to transport these vape cartridges and, if convicted, could face up to 10 years in prison. A Russian court recently announced that Griner’s detainment will be sustained until May 19 at the earliest. At such a tumultuous and unpredictable time due to Russia’s Ukraine invasion, there is fear that Griner’s current status and hopeful soon release will not be prioritized. Additionally, the relationship between the United States and Russia is unstable and diplomatically hostile, so the chance of Russia working with the US to release an American detainee is quite slim. It’s also important to note that Russia has an extremely high conviction rate of 99 percent, which lowers Griner’s probability of not being prosecuted even more.
In a NY Daily News article, Aron Solomon commented that Griner’s detainment could be “a set-up so that Russia would get a political prisoner with real exchange value.” Russia has been accused of constructing false allegations against US citizens in the past, so some are considering this to be a possibility in Griner’s situation. Joaquin Castro, a Democratic member of the House of Representatives representing Texas, wrote on Twitter that Griner’s detainment “follows a pattern of Russia wrongly detaining and imprisoning US citizens, including Trevor Reed.” Other politicians, such as Hilary Clinton, have taken to Twitter to showcase their support for Griner and outrage at the situation.
There are also concerns over Griner’s wellbeing due to Russia’s combative and disfavorable outlook on the LGBTQ+ community. Griner is openly gay and is a face of LGBTQ+ activism. Although it is not illegal to be part of the LGBTQ+ community in Russia as of the nineties, in 2013, Putin passed a “gay propaganda” law which has made it illegal to mention or talk about anything related to the “promotion” of gayness in the presence of minors, including in television and media. This law was a strategic move Putin made to win the support of Russian conservatives, which has had drastic detrimental effects on LGBTQ+ Russian youth.
Many are surprised by Griner’s detainment, as she has played on Russia’s UMMC Ekaterinburg team for years and has never had any previous issues traveling in and out of Russia. Many WNBA players often travel overseers to play on different teams during the WNBA’s off-season due to the pay being much higher compared to in the US.
Griner’s teammates, family, friends and fans have spoken out, calling for a safe and quick release from Russian custody. In the same New York Times article, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, Griner’s agent, stated Griner’s “mental and physical health remain our primary concern.”
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