When Brittney Griner was arrested for having cannabis products on her at a Russian airport, you may have wondered what she was doing there in the first place. And if you found out that she was actually there to play basketball, you may have wondered why one of the top American female players would need to go to Russia to play hoops.
Now that the WNBA star is back home and safe, she revealed the reason why she made the trip to Russia.
While speaking at a press conference, Griner told the media that she is never going to play basketball overseas again, unless it’s for her country in the Olympics. She also told reporters in attendance that the main reason why she and many others make the journey to play in Russia is because of the pay gap.
According to the Associated Press (via Yahoo), Griner was making roughly $1-million per year in Russia, which is more than quadruple her annual WNBA salary.
“The whole reason a lot of us go over is the pay gap,” Griner told reporters during her first press conference since her release. “A lot of us go over there to make an income to support our families, to support ourselves.”
That’s a lot of money for Griner to be leaving on the table. But after spending nearly 10 months in a Russian prison, I’m sure this is one decision she won’t be second guessing.
