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Brittney Griner's detention in Russia extended through at least July 2.

Why is Brittney Griner in Russia in the first place? Because the NBA does not do enough financially to help the WNBA.​


Infuriating. Disturbing. Helpless. These are a few of the feelings conjured thinking about the detention of WNBA star Brittney Griner, seeing pictures of her handcuffed in a Russian courtroom on Friday, the outset of her trial on dubious drug charges. One of the queens of American women’s basketball is a geopolitical pawn in frosty relations between the United States and Russia. It’s unnecessary for reasons beyond the perversion of justice in Vladimir Putin’s Stygian state. Griner could be on a WNBA court instead of in a foreign power’s kangaroo one if the wage gap between women’s basketball players and their male counterparts wasn’t as wide as the political divide in America The Polarized. That pay gap is why Griner, a seven-time WNBA All-Star, two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, and two-time WNBA scoring champion, was in Russia in the first place.
She was traveling back to her well-heeled Russian team when she was detained Feb. 17 at a Moscow airport and declared to have vape pens containing hashish oil in her luggage, setting off this saga.Griner was making $1 million-$1.5 million playing for oligarch-funded UMMC Ekaterinburg, a superpower that has long shelled out top dollar for the world’s best women’s players. The WNBA’s paltry pay pushed Griner into Russian crosshairs.
 

Wade admonishes U.S. for ‘disgusting’ treatment of Brittney Griner as she goes on trial in Russia​


Brittney Griner should have been in Chicago on Saturday as her Mercury faced the Sky at Wintrust Arena. Instead, she’s 135 days into her detainment in Russia and one day into her trial on drug charges, which are punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Wade, who was back on the court for the first time since entering health-and-safety protocols last Sunday, said it’s as if Griner has been abandoned. He specifically referred to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow failing to staff a phone line, preventing Griner and her wife from speaking on a scheduled call. Griner reportedly made 11 attempts in several hours to connect using the number provided by the embassy. ‘‘[The White House] knows where [Griner] is,’’ Wade said. ‘‘She’s been there for four months. Why do we have to sign a petition? Let’s pretend it’s Tom Brady. Would we have to sign a petition then?’’ A number of fans behind the Mercury’s bench for the Sky’s 91-75 victory Saturday held signs that displayed different iterations of the message ‘‘Free BG.’’ At every Sky home game this season, fans have displayed signs and worn apparel in support of Griner.

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Only 1% of Russian Trials End in Acquittal. What That Means for Brittney Griner​


Brittney Griner’s trial is underway in Russia after the U.S. declared the WNBA star “wrongfully detained” by the Russian government. But the legal system in Russia is far different than in the U.S. What does that mean for Griner’s trial? Criminal defense attorney Molly Parmer explains.

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WNBA star Brittney Griner sends letter to Biden asking for his help to leave a Russian jail: 'I'm terrified I might be here forever'

WNBA star Brittney Griner — who has been held in Russia since February — on Monday made a direct appeal to President Joe Biden for his help to release her and other Americans detained while abroad in a handwritten letter delivered to the White House. Griner's representatives released excerpts of the letter, in which the professional basketball player said she was "terrified" she might never leave Russia." As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments, I'm terrified I might be here forever," the Phoenix Mercury player wrote." On the 4th of July, our family normally honors the service of those who fought for our freedom including my father who is a Vietnam War Veteran. It hurts thinking about how I usually celebrate this day because freedom means something completely different to me this year," she added. She was in the country to play for UMMC Ekaterinburg, the Russian professional women's team where she spends the WNBA offseason.


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  • WNBA star Brittney Griner wrote a letter to Biden urging him to help get her released from Russia.
  • Griner has been detained since February when she was accused of carrying vapes with hashish oil.
  • "I voted for the first time in 2020 and I voted for you," she wrote to Biden. "I believe in you."
 

Biden read Brittney Griner's letter, White House won't say if he'll meet her family​


Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters during a briefing on Tuesday that Biden read Griner's handwritten letter, which was sent to the White House on Monday, and her note was "very personal" to him."I'm not going to share any personal interaction that I had with the president," Jean-Pierre told ABC News when asked about Biden's reaction. Jean-Pierre wouldn't say whether Biden was going to respond to Griner's letter. Griner personally reached out to Biden, urging him to help get her out of Russia where she has been held for some five months for allegedly possessing hashish oil according to her representatives. In the handwritten letter from Griner, portions of which were made public, she expressed fears she will be held in Russia "forever."

"As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments, I'm terrified I might be here forever," Griner wrote to the president.

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This brings to mind a classic:

IMUS: So, I watched the basketball game last night between -- a little bit of Rutgers and Tennessee, the women's final.
ROSENBERG: Yeah, Tennessee won last night -- seventh championship for [Tennessee coach] Pat Summitt, I-Man. They beat Rutgers by 13 points.
IMUS: That's some rough girls from Rutgers. Man, they got tattoos and --
McGUIRK: Some hard-core hos.
IMUS: That's some nappy-headed hos there. I'm gonna tell you that now, man, that's some -- woo. And the girls from Tennessee, they all look cute, you know, so, like -- kinda like -- I don't know.
McGUIRK: A Spike Lee thing.
IMUS: Yeah.
McGUIRK: The Jigaboos vs. the Wannabes -- that movie that he had.
IMUS: Yeah, it was a tough --
McCORD: Do The Right Thing.
McGUIRK: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
IMUS: I don't know if I'd have wanted to beat Rutgers or not, but they did, right?
ROSENBERG: It was a tough watch. The more I look at Rutgers, they look exactly like the Toronto Raptors.
IMUS: Well, I guess, yeah.
RUFFINO: Only tougher.
McGUIRK: The [Memphis] Grizzlies would be more appropriate.

Probably thought of that on account of that bitch looks like a fuckin' Klingon.

:sarek:
 

Phoenix Mercury coach says Brittney Griner's detainment would be resolved 'if it was LeBron'​


As Brittney Griner readies for trial this week in Russia, her head coach with the Phoenix Mercury can't help but wonder if the situation would be resolved already if it were LeBron James who was detained. Speaking after her team's loss to the Los Angeles Sparks on Monday, Mercury coach Vanessa Nygaard spoke to the media about the message that's being sent by not bringing Griner home. "If it was LeBron, he'd be home, right?" Nygaard asked. "It's a statement about the value of women. It's a statement about the value of a black person. It's a statement about the value of a gay person. All of those things. We know it, and so that's what hurts a little more." The Mercury will hold a public rally in support of Brittney Griner on Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Footprint Center.

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White House Denies Brittney Griner Would Be Home if She Were a Straight Man​


Asked whether Griner, who is Black, gay and female is facing a double standard, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre suggested Tuesday that such arguments go against President Joe Biden's many efforts on behalf of minority communities. "This is a president who has put all of the things that you just laid out—the LGBTQ community, women, people of color—he has fought for those communities throughout his career, and you have seen that in policies that he has put forward," she told reporters. As Griner readies for trial this week, her head coach said the situation would be very different if NBA star LeBron James had been detained in Russia for over 130 days. "If it was LeBron, he'd be home, right?" Phoenix Mercury coach Vanessa Nygaard told the media on Monday. "It's a statement about the value of women. It's a statement about the value of a Black person. It's a statement about the value of a gay person. All of those things. We know it, and so that's what hurts a little more. James himself has publicly called on the U.S. government to bring Griner home. In a statement last month, he said, "As a decorated Olympian and member of an elite global sport community, BG's detention must be resolved out of respect for the sanctity of all sport and for all Americans traveling internationally."

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'I might be here forever': What we know as Brittney Griner enters guilty plea in 'mind-numbing' trial​


Griner used the second day of the trial to enter a guilty plea.

"I'd like to plead guilty, your honor. But there was no intent. I didn't want to break the law," Griner said in English, per Reuters, which was then translated into Russian for the court.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/more-sports/i-might-be-here-forever-what-we-know-as-brittney-griner-enters-guilty-plea-in-mind-numbing-trial/ar-AAZjcNZ]Click Here For Full Story
 
Why Brittney Griner's guilty plea is not the end of her case

[size=5[Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon, a historian whose work focuses on race and the Black experience in Russia and the Soviet Union, puts Brittney Griner's guilty plea into context within the Russian criminal justice system as well as the foreign affairs context that frames Griner's arrest.

[url=[URL]https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc-prime/watch/why-brittney-griner-s-guilty-plea-is-not-the-end-of-her-case-143637573650]Click[/URL] Here For Complete Story[/url][/size]
 
Why Brittney Griner's guilty plea is not the end of her case

Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon, a historian whose work focuses on race and the Black experience in Russia and the Soviet Union, puts Brittney Griner's guilty plea into context within the Russian criminal justice system as well as the foreign affairs context that frames Griner's arrest.

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WNBA star Brittney Griner pleads guilty in Russia, tells court she brought marijuana into country accidentally​


WNBA star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty in Russia on Thursday to drug possession and smuggling charges, telling a Moscow court she brought marijuana into the country by accident. Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport in February after Russian officials claimed she had cannabis oil in her luggage. A Russian judge ordered Griner, the Phoenix Mercury center who played in Russia during the WNBA off-season, to remain in custody. "I would like to plead guilty on the charges against me, but I had no intention on breaking any Russian law," she said in court. "I was in a rush packing and the cartridges accidentally ended up in my bags."

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Why did Brittney Griner plead guilty? What to know and what's next in her Russian trial​


According to Russian news agencies, American WNBA star Brittney Griner has pleaded guilty to drug possession and smuggling charges during her trial in Moscow. The reports Thursday said that speaking through an interpreter, Griner said she had acted unintentionally because she was packing in haste. The trial began last week. Like many WNBA stars including Mercury teammate Diana Taurasi, Griner has played in Russia for the last seven years during the winter, earning more than $1 million per season, more than quadruple her WNBA salary. She last played for her Russian team UMMC Ekaterinburg.
The move is not expected to end her trial in Russia anytime soon. Even with a guiltyplea in Russian criminal courts, the trial will continue. The judge will read the full case into the record, which could take weeks or even months. According to reports, Griner said in English: "I'd like to plead guilty, your honor. But there was no intent. I didn't want to break the law.

Click Here For Complete Story[/urlhttps://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nb...nd-whats-next-in-her-russian-trial/ar-AAZkyu4
 

Why Brittney Griner's peril is felt by all Black women in America​


OP/ED: The conditions that brought the U.S. basketball player to Russia in the first place, and perhaps what have kept her there for so long, reflect the vulnerability that often comes with being a Black woman. When tennis star Serena Williams gave birth to her daughter in 2017, she nearly died because doctors did not believe her when she cried out in pain. As it turns out, Williams, the world's most famous athlete, was suffering from blood clots in her lungs. It would be hours before doctors agreed to do a CAT scan and rush to break up the clotting before it reached her heart. Despite all of her prestige and achievements, Williams was at the mercy of a medical system that is uniquely fatal for Black women.The state of powerlessness Black women, including Serena Williams, are relegated to is a phenomenon sociologist and author Tressie McMillan Cottom in her memoir "Thick: And Other Essays”. It "supersedes even the most powerful status cultures in all of neoliberal capitalism: wealth and fame," Cottom wrote.

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