Brittney Griner Appears in Russian Court for Preliminary Hearing

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Her wife, Cherelle Griner, told The Associated Press that she has “zero trust” in the US government in light of the way her wife’s detention has been handled thus far.

Playing basketball in Russia

Griner had been in Russia to play in the UMMC Ekaterinburg basketball team for several WNBA off-seasons. But this particular trip came just a week or so before Russia invaded Ukraine. And the US State Department had just issued a “Do Not Travel” advisory.

The two-time Olympian flew to Russia like about “half of the WNBA’s 144 players” had been doing every year. High-ranking athletes can earn more than $1 million playing in Russia. WNBA athlete Liz Cambage said on NBA Today she increases her earnings “five to eight times more” by playing overseas.

Griner is a native of Texas.  Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro claims that Russia’s decision to detain the athlete is all about politics. “I’m closely monitoring reports of Texan @brittneygriner’s detention in Russia. This follows a pattern of Russia wrongly detaining & imprisoning US citizens. US citizens are not political pawns.”