Change in the case of Brittney Griner (31 years and 2.06 m). The United States Government has changed her status and now understands that the WNBA center was unfairly detained by Russiaaccording to ESPN. In any case, she is not considered a hostage, a different legal classification. What does it mean? Two things. On the one hand, that the US authorities are not going to wait for her case to be judged in the Russian courts, but to negotiate to bring her back home.
And, on the other, that Griner’s entourage and the WNBA players will leave a low profile, requested by the authorities to prevent Vladimir Putin, Russian president, from considering the detainee a valuable asset during the invasion of Ukraine, and they may draw as much attention to the case as they see fit.
“Brittney has been detained for 75 days and our expectation is that the White House will do whatever it takes to bring her home,” Lindsay Kagawa Colas, Griner’s agent, arrested at Moscow airport (prior step to get to Yekaterinburg, where he plays, last February (it took a month for the information to come to light) for carrying in your luggage prohibited substances, a liquid derived from cannabis for use in a vaporizer. He faces five years in a forced labor camp.
Pressure from the WNBA
Both options have already been rolled out. For the first, Roger Carstens, special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, will lead the interagency team to secure his release. The affected US Congress committees will be informed on Monday and the consular office, which was monitoring the case without intervening, will be set aside.
For the second, Griner’s family reported that they have hired Bill Richardson, the country’s former ambassador to the United Nations, who has worked privately for years as an international hostage negotiator. Besides, the WNBA will put up a special sticker with Griner’s initials and number on the courts of their twelve teams to express their support for the Phoenix Mercury player.
Optimism
“We feel great about it“said a source close to the US international. “But we also know that it can be prolonged, so we don’t want to get our hopes up too high.”
Optimism, although moderate, in the player’s environment has grown after the release of former US Marine Trevor Reed, arrested in Russia in 2019. The soldier was exchanged for a Russian citizen who had been convicted of drug trafficking. The agreement was a sign that, despite the current war in Ukraine, there is still an open diplomatic channel between the two countries.
Griner’s career
Griner was the WNBA champion in 2014 with the Phoenix Mercury, team that chose her with the number 1 draft a year earlier. With the United States team, she has won the last two Olympic golds (Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020) and the last two World Cups (Turkey 2014 and Spain 2018).
In terms of personal recognition, Gringer has been one of the most successful players of the last decade: two times the WNBA’s best defender, two times top scorer and eight times top shotper, she has been chosen three times in the best quintet of the League and has played the All Star seven times. In addition, was listed among the top 25 players in WNBA history in the list drawn up last year on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the American league.
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