It’s unclear if the arrest of the Olympic champion was politically motivated. But the case also speaks volumes about the treatment of female athletes in the US
One of the US’s top athletes has been detained in Russia for almost a month. You would think that would be an enormous story, right? I mean, a celebrity caught sneezing is considered newsworthy (the actor Jennifer Garner, in case you missed it).
Wrong. Coverage of the detention of Brittney Griner, a star player in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and a two-time Olympic champion, was until very recently so sparse that there is a good chance this is the first time you are hearing about it. If so, here is the background: on 17 February, Griner, who plays for the Russian team UMMC Ekaterinburg during the WNBA offseason, was arrested at an airport near Moscow. The 31-year-old was accused by Russian customs authorities of having vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage. She faces up to 10 years in prison. That would be a nightmare for anyone, but it doesn’t help that Griner is black and openly gay. Russia, I don’t need to tell you, is hardly an LGBTQ+ paradise.
