Russia isn’t letting a star WNBA athlete come home for at least two more months.
The Russian Customs Service said it detained an American basketball player, later identified as seven-time WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner, after arriving at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport on a flight from New York last month. Griner is accused of possessing vape cartridges containing hash oil, an illegal substance in Russia.
“The court granted the request of the investigation and extended the period of detention of the US citizen Griner until May 19,” the court said.
Russian authorities accused Griner of smuggling “significant amounts of narcotic substance.” It’s unclear when Griner was arrested or how long she has been detained.
WNBA SUPERSTAR BRITTNEY GRINER HELD IN RUSSIA ON DRUG CHARGES AFTER AIRPORT MARIJUANA BUST
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has taken an interest in Griner’s detention. Blinken said an embassy team was working on Griner’s case as well as other Americans who are detained in Russia, though the scope of what he could say about Griner was limited due to “privacy considerations.”
Griner is being held in a cell with two other women, neither of whom have previous convictions, Ekaterina Kalugina, a member of the Public Monitoring Commission, told TASS. Kalugina said Griner’s only complaint was that her bed was too small.
Griner plays for the Russian team UMMC Ekaterinburg during the WNBA’s offseason. Russia’s Women’s Basketball Premier League season begins in October, a month after the WNBA season wraps up.
Kalugina told TASS that despite Russia saying it was willing to “create all conditions” for a visit from U.S. government officials, they have not met with Griner — a situation U.S. Rep. Colin Allred said was “unusual and extremely concerning.”
Allred told CNN host Don Lemon the conflict playing out in Ukraine is complicating getting Griner back home.
“For Brittney’s sake, we don’t want her to become a part of this kind of political battle that’s going on, and we want to make sure that her rights are respected and that we are able to get access to her,” Allred said. “And that she can get through the process and get home as quickly as possible.”
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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine spurred the state department to warn U.S. citizens not to travel to Russia, placing its highest level advisory on the country, warning its embassy will have a limited ability to assist them.
“The U.S. government’s ability to provide routine or emergency services to U.S. citizens in Russia is severely limited, particularly in areas far from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow due to Russian government limitations on travel, the number of U.S. staff, and the ongoing suspension of operations, including consular services, at U.S. consulates.”
