NFL
By Zachary Draves
It has been nearly three months since Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner was detained in Russia due to vape cartridges containing cannabis oil being found in her luggage at a Moscow airport. An offense that according to Russian law would potentially result in a five to ten-year sentence that in context, given the current state of affairs in Russia, warrants potential horrors similar to that of other authoritarian regimes and its treatment of political prisoners.
Since then there has been an ever-growing movement starting with the WNBA to ensure her release as soon as possible. Since the beginning of the season, each WNBA team has placed her initials and her number #42 on the court and the Mercury has donned t-shirts with that insignia on it during their season opener. Over the last month and a half, significant updates have given her family and supporters both hope and frustration.
(Courtesy: Ethan Miller/Getty)
(Courtesy: USA Today)
After the release of US soldier Trevor Reed, who was detained in Russia for nine years, it renewed the possibility that Brittney’s case would be taken seriously in large part due to the fact that the broader society kept her case under wraps ever since her detainment was public knowledge in February. Then, the U.S. State Department declared that she was unjustly detained which began the full process of negotiations to release her and gave her loved ones a breath of fresh air. But then there was the news that her pretrial hearing, which was scheduled for later this month, has been delayed until June, which added to the uncertainty and frustration and thus intensified the pressure on the US government.
The NBA has now teamed up with the WNBA in securing her release as stated recently by Commissioner Adam Silver. Phoenix Suns’ point guard and activist Chris Paul added his voice to the cause and did one better by wearing a Brittney Griner t-shirt before a recent Suns playoff game. Of course, the entire WNBA infrastructure from their Commissioner Cathy Engelbert to some of the biggest names in the league such as Brenna Stewart, Sue Bird, Candace Parker, Aja Wilson, Natasha Cloud, Diana Taurasi, and Brianna Turner have done everything they can to say her name.
None of which should come as a surprise to anyone that has followed the WNBA in recent years as they have been at the forefront of social activism in sports dating back to 2016 after the police killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile and the killings of five Dallas police officers within the same week during that tumultuous summer. The same is true with the infamous summer of 2020 and the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery among others when during their period in the “wubble”, they amplified their platform to say the names of those who have victimized by racism, especially black women.
This is simply a continuation of that tradition.
Another factor that has been regularly mentioned is the reality that so many WNBA players have had to go play overseas in the offseason just to make enough of a substantial living considering that the WNBA-based salary is $120,600. A long-overdue examination of the issue of gender pay disparities in sports has come about as a result of this case and one that WNBA players and other women in sports have shed light on for years but have been largely ignored.
Among the groups that have been actively involved in ensuring that Brittney is released has been the National Black Justice Coalition, the nation’s leading black LGBTQ+ civil rights organization. They were one of the first organizations to step up and put pressure on Washington on not only making sure that she is able to come home safely but also demanding information on her well-being and consular visitations.
Their Deputy Executive Director Victoria Kirby York, who happens to be a season ticket holder for the Washington Mystics, has met with the White House and the State Department. Given all the confidentiality that comes with those meetings, she was able to say that those in the position to take action have been receptive and are aware of the seriousness of the matter.
“They have been as transparent as they can be. Of course, everyone has tried to respect as asked for by Brittney’s wife the privacy of Brittney and her family and to respect their legal strategy” she said.
“The White House has definitely continued to follow that line and follow the lead of Brittney’s family and her attorneys. I truly believe they are doing all they can.”
Furthermore, the NBJC has been able to connect the dots between Brittney’s case to the growing erosion of LGBTQ+ rights in various states to the vicious anti-LGBTQ+ laws that Russia has on the books. In other words, you can’t address one without addressing the other.
“It is an example of why people who are in favor of equality and equity need to be louder about where you are and where you stand on these issues,” said York.
“We need people who believe these things that are ultimately good to take to the streets, take to the polls, and take meetings with their lawmakers and say that this is not the nation that we want to see. Similarly in Russia.”
The pressure is mounting and the need to do the right thing is growing by the minute. Brittney deserves it, her family deserves it, her friends deserve it, and her fans deserve it.
It cannot be said enough #FreeBrittneyGriner.
