Who is Brittney Griner?
Brittney Griner is a 31-year-old professional WNBA player for the Phoenix Mercury. Nationally Griner is a six-time WNBA all-star, and internationally she’s brought home two gold medals with the US Women’s National Basketball team in the 2016 and 2020 Olympics.
Women in the WNBA make far less than their male counterparts, with the highest-paid woman in the WNBA being Griner’s own teammate G Diamond DeShields. Deshields’s 2-year total WNBA salary brings her to about $228,094 a year, compared to Stephen Curry’s $45,000,000.
The wage gap between female and male basketball teams encourages and almost requires some WNBA players to find work overseas during the US off-season. Brittney Griner had previously played six seasons on a Russian club team before her detainment in February.
Why & When was Brittney Griner detained in Russia?
In February, Brittney Griner traveled to Russia to rejoin the team she played with during the winter. In Russia Griner was set to make $1,000,000, which is almost four times her WNBA salary. Unfortunately instead, she was detained on charges of smuggling and drug possession.
In February, while flying into the country, customs agents found cartridges used for vaping hash or cannabis oil in Griner’s luggage. In August, Griner plead guilty but explained she never meant to break Russian law, claiming that she accidentally packed the cartridges without thinking.
Regardless of her intent, in August Griner was charged with drug smuggling by the Russian government. Since all use of cannabis, even medicinal as Griner’s doctor explained was the case, is illegal in Russia, Griner’s was sentenced to serve nine years in a penal colony.
How long was Brittney Griner detained in Russia?
Brittney Griner was detained in Russia for 294 days in total, over nine months. From February 2022 until July 2022, she was detained awaiting sentencing, and after her trials in July and August, she was relocated to a penal colony hundreds of miles away from Moscow.
After being detained, Russia invaded Ukraine, only strengthening the idea that Griner’s arrest was politically motivated. The fact that Griner is a lesbian made the politics of this case even more complicated, as Russian ruler Putin has always been alarmingly against LGBTQ+ rights.
How was Brittney Griner released from Russia?
After 9 months of discussion of Griner’s case, President Joe Biden was able to negotiate with Russia for Griner’s release. To do so, the president agreed to release Viktor Bout, a known Russian arms dealer with the nickname “the merchant of death” who was jailed in 2011.
To make sure the exchange happened on neutral ground, the US and Russian forces met and swapped prisoners in the United Arab Emirates. The negotiation and release of Griner have been a huge topic of discussion internationally, as tensions between Russia and the US grow.
Was the trade for Brittney Griner a fair one?
The question on everyone’s lips after Griner’s release was if the trade between her and Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout was a fair one. Bout’s nickname and the information released on his previous crimes made many Americans wonder if the trade was a good idea.
Not only an arms dealer, Bout is also a weapons manufacturer and was once a Soviet military translator before the union fell. He was convicted in 2011 after a multi-national sting operation revealed his plans to provide aid to terrorist organizations and kill US citizens.
While it may seem like the trade between Bout and Griner was unfairly skewed in Russia’s direction, the reality of the situation is more complicated. While President Biden attempted to negotiate a more even trade with Russian nationals, the Kremlin refused any other options.
The Russian government was intent on bringing Viktor Bout home, and while the reasons for their insistence are worrying, they aren’t more worrying than what could have happened to Brittany Griner. As a Black, lesbian US national, Griner would have been in danger for years.
Do you agree or disagree with the trade? Tell us in the comments below!
Photo credit: Lorie Shaull
