WNBA star Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia since some time in February after Russian Federal Customs Service officials say they found vape cartridges containing hashish oil after searching her luggage.
The timing of the arrest came at a terrible time for Griner, coinciding with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Surprisingly, Griner’s detainment has not been front-page news, with WNBA great Lisa Leslie saying in March that she was told not to make a “big fuss” over Griner’s arrest lest Griner be used as a pawn by Russia.
“What we were told, and again this is all sort of passed along through hearsay, but what we were told was to not make a big fuss about it so that they could not use her as a pawn, so to speak, in this situation in the war,” Leslie said. “So, to make it like it’s not that important or don’t make it where we’re like, ‘Free Brittney’ and we start this campaign, and then it becomes something that they can use.”
But members of the WNBA are beginning to speak out on Griner’s detainment, with WNBA Players Association President and current member of the LA Sparks Nneka Ogwumike joining ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Tuesday to bring attention to the situation.
“BG [Brittney Griner] is us. We are BG,” Ogwumike said. “That could have been us. We’re really most concerned about her health and safety. Especially her mental health. We’re hearing, in that respect, she’s ok. But we want her home.”
“Given the nature of Brittney’s situation, when it happened, it was very important for us to be intentional about doing the best thing to ensure that we don’t compromise her coming home,” Ogwumike continued. “So, a lot of that had to do with educating ourselves about the details about what was going on, as much as we could know, but then understanding how important it was for us to be strategic about when and how we speak about her.”
Ogwumike was asked whether the lack of publicity around Griner’s detainment was a “gender issue,” to which Ogwumike stated that the only reason Griner was in Russia was because of her gender, as many WNBA players play overseas during the offseason in order to make additional money.
“When is it not? You advocate for us in so many respects,” Ogwumike said. “It’s disappointing that the question of it being a gender issue is top of mind now when it comes to this type of circumstance. But the reality is that she’s over there because of a gender issue. Pay inequity. I played in Russia for four years, I played in Poland for one year, I played in China for two years. We go over there to supplement our incomes. And quite frankly, we go over there to maintain our game.”
EXCLUSIVE: WNBA Players Association President @nnekaogwumike speaks to @GMA about efforts to bring Brittney Griner home from Russia.https://t.co/ldTRCw6tzC
— Good Morning America (@GMA) April 12, 2022
It’s the same sentiment expressed by Aron Solomon, chief legal analyst for Esquire Digital, who spoke with The Daily Wire in March.
“I think that while Russia really sees her as being somebody great to take as a political prisoner, the reality is this is indicative of how a lot of people in the United States see women’s sport,” Solomon told The Daily Wire. “And of course, people might be thinking, ‘Why was Brittney Griner in Russia in the first place?’”
“It’s because she can’t earn the kind of living in the WNBA that our athletes should want to live,” he continued. “And there’s one great quote from about five years ago from Diana Taurasi, who’s actually a teammate of Brittney Griner’s for UMMC Ekaterinburg. She said … ‘We had to go to a communist country to get paid like capitalists.’ Which is so backwards to everything that was in the history books in sixth grade.”
On Monday, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the league is “trying everything” they can to assist in her release.
“This is an unimaginable situation for BG to be in,” Engelbert said. “She continues to have our full support. Certainly, we’re trying everything we can, every angle, working with her legal representation, her agent, elected leaders, the administration. Just everybody in our ecosystem to try and find ways to get her home safely and as quickly as we can.”
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].