Brittney Griner, the Phoenix Mercury center, has found herself on the wrong side of the law in of all places, Russia. According to the New York Times, which suggests she may have been detained for at least three weeks. The WNBA player was taken in custody and charged with drug smuggling after authorities found vape accessories in her carry-on luggage.
Russian news agency TASS identified the “professional basketball player” stopped by the Russian Federal Custom Services. Griner is a member of the U.S. National Basketball Association and a two-time U.S. Olympic gold medal basketball winner. She’s also a seven-time WNBA All-Star. In nine seasons with the women’s professional basketball league, Griner led in blocks of eight.
The WNBA released a statement to USA TODAY Sports, saying, “Brittney Griner has the WNBA’s full support and our main priority is her swift and safe return to the United States.”
Officials are saying Griner was carrying cannabis oil cartridges and vaping supplies. She’s looking at up to a decade inside a Russian prison.
Griner’s agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, said, “As this is an ongoing legal matter, we are not able to comment further on the specifics of her case but can confirm that as we work to get her home, her mental and physical health remain our primary concern.”
She added, “We are aware of the situation with Brittney Griner in Russia and are in close contact with her, her legal representation in Russia, her family, her teams, and the WNBA and NBA.”
The Russian Federal Customs Service said Griner was going through “the green channel at Sheremetyevo Airport after a trip in New York. One of the airport’s sniffing dogs detected the possibility of narcotics in her accompanying luggage. A search uncovered the vapes and “specifically-smelling liquid.” Investigators determined the liquid was hash oil, a “narcotic substance.”
Since 2015, the baller has played for Russia’s Yekaterinburg UMMC. Many players in WNBA join leagues in Russia during the U.S. offseason. It provides the opportunity to continue competing on a pro-level and get those higher salaries overseas teams provide. In the U.S., Griner made a base salary of $215,000 with the Mercury. In Russia, she can make $1.5 million a season.
Unfortunately, Russia’s drug laws are draconian. Penal code Article 228 is commonly known as the “people’s article.” It regulates “the purchase, possession, distribution, production and processing of drugs.” One study of the Russian drug policy framed the drug situation as such, “The government’s official policy towards drug use is one of ‘social intolerance,’ which seeks to legitimize and encourage societal ill treatment of people who use drugs.”
The nickname comes from stats that say 200,000 people — a ratio of 1:3 incarcerated — are behind bars for drugs. Still, that doesn’t necessarily mean this country can gloat. In 2019, our state prisons alone put away 183,900 for a variety of drug charges. In many cases, as in the case of Griner, for relatively harmless offenses.
Many analysts note that Griner’s detainment comes during the increasing U.S. and Russian diplomatic strain over the latter’s aggressive invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
