Brittney Griner, a top player for the WNBA, has been “wrongfully detained” in Russia for more than 150 days, and her family and friends are still fighting for her to be sent home. Since February, Griner has been imprisoned in Russia when officials there discovered hashish oil in her luggage at a Moscow airport.
During her hearing last month, the seven-time All-Star pleaded guilty to the charges, telling the judge, “I didn’t want to break the law.” The guilty plea does not bring an end to the case, but some have suggested it could speed up the process along with Griner’s exit from prison.
In the meantime, she has hundreds of thousands of people that have her support and it was confirmed when a petition was created to bring her back home.
The petition, titled, “Secure Brittney Griner’s Swift and Safe Return to the U.S.,” has garnered more than 340,000 signatures.
It reads as:
“Griner is a beloved global citizen who has used her platform since her entry into the WNBA to help others. She was detained while working in Russia, where she has starred for Russian EuroLeague Club UMMC Ekaterinburg since 2016 – helping the team win four EuroLeague Women’s championships and seven Russian League championships.
Like many athletes competing in the WNBA, Griner – a two-time Olympic gold medalist – plays abroad during the WNBA offseason for the love of the sport, but also in exchange for substantially bigger contracts, which are not available to women’s basketball players in the U.S. Professional athletes never know when their careers will come to an end. They must compete today with tomorrow’s financial security in mind. For more than half of the athletes in the WNBA, that means moving abroad for several months of the year.
It is imperative that the U.S. government immediately address this human rights issue and do whatever is necessary to return Brittney home quickly and safely.”
Last week, Uninterrupted released the complete video of The Shop’s segment on Griner where LeBron James talked about the imprisoned WNBA star.
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James: “Over 100, gotta be over 110 days.”
James: “And the WNBA season has started and she’s still hasn’t come back.”
James: “I was trying to imagine it and it’s hard for me to even put myself into what she’s going through. Like she’s such a great human being. A great person. Obviously, I’ve been in her presence a few times and you always feel like, you know, if you’re from a certain place, you always feel like they’ve got your back. And, in a sense, now, how could she feel like America has her back? I would be feeling like, ‘Do I even want to go back to America?’ I’ve been gone for over 130 days. And I felt like it’s been zero effort.”
James: “Literally, as it’s going on day by day, I can’t not say anything and just try to get more people’s ears, people’s eyes and as much support as possible.”
