With Brittney Griner nonetheless imprisoned in Russia on alleged drug expenses, fellow USA Basketball teammate Breanna Stewart is beginning to converse out.
What occurred to Griner, Stewart stated at their coaching camp on Wednesday in Minneapolis, may have simply occurred to any WNBA participant — which is a mirrored image on how they’re handled in america.
“The big thing is the fact that we have to go over there. It was BG, but it could have been anybody,” Stewart stated, via The Associated Press.
“WNBA players need to be valued in their country and they won’t have to play overseas.”
Griner was detained after flying into an airport in Moscow earlier this 12 months, shortly earlier than Russia invaded Ukraine. Officers allegedly found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her baggage. She’s now underneath investigation for large-scale transportation of medication, and will withstand 10 years in jail.
Particulars about her situation, location and extra have been scarce since her arrest, and there are fears that she may very well be used as a “high-profile hostage.”
An official from the American embassy in Russia checked in on Griner final week and stated that she was in “good condition.” That, nonetheless, was the extent of the replace. Griner goes to be held at least until May 19 after an attraction was denied at a pretrial listening to earlier this month.
To Stewart’s level, Griner and others have been taking part in abroad in the course of the WNBA offseason for years. The WNBA base wage in 2022 is simply greater than $228,000. European golf equipment, although, can pay as much as 10 occasions that. Griner’s membership in Russia, UMMC Yekaterinburg, even as soon as paid Diana Taurasi $1.5 million for a single season. If gamers made extra in america, they wouldn’t must play for a second workforce.
Although the circumstances surrounding Griner’s arrest and the allegations that got here with it nonetheless aren’t clear, Stewart and fellow USA Basketball star Angel McCoughtry know that it simply may have been them detained in Russia.
“People are saying she’s 6-foot-9, she’s different,” McCoughtry stated, via The Associated Press. “It’s not really about that. It could have been any of us.”
