Yeah, but it’s sort of a pet peeve when relatively rich folks complain that they can’t afford things that they absolutely can afford, such as saving for retirement.
In this case it was someone else complaining on her behalf, but still…
ETA: To be clear, I don’t begrudge her playing in Russia. If some Russian corporation was willing to pay me $1.5 million a year to play basketball on my off days I would take them up on it too. (Well maybe not NOW, but when they weren’t attacking Ukraine for no reason, anyway) I just think the implication that it’s the only way she can save for retirement is bonkers. Especially when she has a million dollar endorsement deal with Nike.
I believe virtually all foreign players have left Russian teams. For sure all American players have left their Russian teams. And one of the articles I remember reading indicated her team had a number of top American players and some other top foreign (non-US and non-Russian) players as well. I would expect those others have left as well. So I don’t know what type of team they now have.
Had she not been arrested/detained, I’m sure she would have left as well within a short time of having returned to Russia.
From all the articles I have read, she has been held incommunicado. Or at least, no one in the US media or Russian media has reported an interview with her since her detention.
I believe the first in the US were picking up Russian media reports. I was a bit surprised that her friends and family and associates had not reported her seeming disappearance. I would imagine someone missed her in the weeks between when she returned to Russia and when it was reported she had been arrested/detained.
How long was it? Possibly her family knew? Or if they didn’t maybe it was a short time?
IIRC she’s got a wife and a couple of kids, so yeah if they didn’t know you’d think they’d have been all over it. Though the media isn’t necessarily where you’d start. (State department, Senators & Representative would be my first & second attempts.)
I’m guessing they (Brittney’s family and friends) were told by US authorities to keep it as quiet as possible so that Russia couldn’t exploit it. Then Russia finally got tired of waiting for American media to report it and leaked it to the Russian state media.
Again, someone is getting it all USA-first backward:
(bolded emphasis mine)
Besides playing for the Phoenix Mercury, the 6’9” Griner is a basketball titan overseas, where she plays for the Russian league UMMC Ekaterinburg in the WNBA offseason. In 2021, she helped the Russian team win its fifth EuroLeague Women’s championship. Like most professional women’s players, who make a microcosmic fraction of what the men make in the NBA, this kind of international play is essential for supplementing their income.
Correction: these players play in the WNBA in the Russian league offseason. It is unknown why they do this.
Good that Brittney is getting counsel. Whoever owns that team needs to be a little more demanding to release one of his star players. Or, we can wonder why he isn’t, or why his assumed efforts are not productive.
It’s time for the league to step up for the safety and security of its players, without simply passing the costs onto fans. Let franchise owners, our own homegrown oligarchs, sacrifice for once and make being in the WNBA a year-round job.
Um, the market decides what entertainment is worth. They get paid more in Russia, because they are more valuable there. The market here is just not as interested in Women’s basketball. Writer/Columnist here wants our oligarchs here to lose money just to pay players more. Good luck with that.
In addition to all of the problems you pointed out (which I agree with), I will add this nitpick to the first thing you bolded.
UMMC Ekaterinburg is a team, not a league. They are in the Russian Pro League and until the invasion of Ukraine also the EuroLeague Women. UMMC Ekaterinburg is the reigning champion of both.
Forget the WNBA paying the ladies more, the WNBA really shouldn’t even exist. It’s lost money every year of its existence, often losing more than $10m annually. WNBA player salaries are literally subsidized by the NBA’s profits.
Lots of pressure on the US government to negotiate her release, probably in some kind of prisoner swap. Somewhat tough to decide what is best without knowing whether she really broke the law. Should this be treated as another unfortunate case of “do not negotiate with terrorists”, as it encourages them to repeat the behavior? Or a case of "do what is necessary to save the US citizen?
I admittedly feel weird about a “liberal” administration who definitely won’t legalize cannabis working to free an American abroad on clear cut cannabis charges.
The charges may be clear cut, but whether she is guilty of them is not so clear cut. As I understand it, she was advised to plead guilty, otherwise there could be no deal for her release.
I don’t think she’s ever really protested her innocence, has she? The only version of the story I’ve ever heard is that she was packing in a hurry and didn’t intend to take them to Russia. No denial that the cartridges were there and were hers, just a statement that she did not intend to pack them.
I’m assuming that she actually is guilty, anyway, as that seems like an entirely plausible version of events so I have no particular reason to suspect it’s untrue.
What I’m less sure of is what is the typical Russian punishment for this? She’s been incarcerated since mid-February… almost five months now. Surely in the US she’d be out by now, right?
I’m also not sure what is typical when US citizens commit crimes in other countries. What level of intervention by the state department is normal? I assume if it’s something dumb like spending the night in the slammer for some drunk & disorderly conduct then they probably don’t even lift a finger, but for bigger stuff they might do more.
I know one of hubby’s co-workers was arrested on a work trip. Clearly guilty as sin, sentenced to I think 6 months, and had to serve it in the foreign jail.
You know what, I take it back. She’s never really said anything one way or the other before the guilty plea.
Her story does seem pretty plausible/likely though.
I don’t know anything about these cartridges. How much cannabis do they contain? I can only find two levels of cannabis offenses in Russia: less than 6 grams is “up to 15 days” and more than that seems to be “10 years”. That’s a pretty freaking huge difference. I’m not sure if there just are no intermediate offenses or if BG brought / was accused of bringing a crap ton into the country.
Worst part is still that the billionaire owner couldn’t or wouldn’t use his pull to get her out, so she could play for his team. That tells me there’s more to this.
Not sure what she is pleading guilty to. Trafficking or mere possession.
