There’s a human rights crisis brewing we’re not talking about nearly enough. That’s partly because we don't have much information, our hands are tied, and, to be real, media and systems of power are still steeped in racism, misogyny, and homophobia. And it’s with this framing we consider the current situation of Brittney Griner. The Olympic basketball gold medalist, WNBA star, and openly queer woman married to another woman is being held in Russia on alleged drug charges, which could be punishable by ten years in prison, as reported by New York Magazine.
We don’t know the details of her detention. We don’t know when she was actually arrested, though it seems she’s been in detention for the past month. We don’t even know where, exactly, she is. We do know she’s traveled in and out of Russia to play for Russian club UMMC Ekaterinburg, and probably knows the laws well. We also know her very existence stands in opposition to much of Putin’s Russia—she’s a famous Black lesbian. And she needs our help.
Griner, a 31-year-old U.S. citizen who plays on the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury team, is accused of carrying vape cartridges with cannabis oil in her luggage. She faces charges for allegedly smuggling the substance while in an airport in Moscow. Per CCTV footage released by Russian customs officials, Griner is seen standing in the airport as agents search and dogs sniff her bags. The person in the footage who appears to be Griner presents a haunting image now, as she wears a “Black Lives for Peace” sweatshirt.
Was she carrying drugs? We don’t know. There is a legitimate possibility of drugs being planted on her, as is the legitimate possibility that the cartridges contained drugs she wasn’t aware were present.
“So much of it doesn’t make any sense to me,” Debbie Jackson, who coached Griner in high school basketball, told The New York Times in an interview. “That I find it hard to believe that this is really the true thing that happened.”
I find it hard to believe it happened, too. As do many fans. Again, we don’t know what we don’t know. But we do know some very important context here, including why Griner why is in Russia at all.
Griner is well-respected in her sport, and deservedly well celebrated—she’s a two-time defensive player of the year, as well as an all-star player seven times. Griner is paid the most she can be within the league’s guidelines, but that pay—when compared to the men’s league—is meager. Men in the NBA are making literal millions per season, and Griner? She caps out at $222,000, as reported by The Guardian. Yes, more money than many people in the U.S., but compared to the men’s league, a clear disparity.
And so Griner—as well as many other athletes—play in the Russian leagues, where they can make serious money. Many critics on social media are shrugging their shoulders and suggesting Griner could have avoided this by not traveling to Russia. And, well, maybe if she was paid remotely fairly, she wouldn’t have to.
With that in mind, it’s truly unclear what is happening in terms of Griner’s safe return as of now. As reported by Yahoo Sports, Evelyn Farkas, a former high-ranking official at the Pentagon, worried about Griner becoming a “high-profile hostage” who could be used as leverage.
“If we want her out of jail,” Farkas told the outlet. “Russia is going to have some terms.” Farkas explained they could ask for a “prisoner swap” or “use it as an implicit threat or blackmail to get us to do something or not do something. Either way, they find it useful.”
In speaking to CNN in an interview, Democratic Rep. John Garamendi, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, said getting Griner home to safety might be “very difficult,” adding that our diplomatic relations with Russia are “nonexistent” right now.