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The commissioner of the WNBA said “everybody in our ecosystem” is working to get Brittney Griner, one of the league’s most popular stars, released from Russia, where she is being detained on drug charges.
“This is an unimaginable situation for BG to be in,” Engelbert said. “She continues to have our full support. … Certainly we’re trying everything we can, every angle, working with her legal representation, her agent, elected leaders, the [Biden] administration — just everybody in our ecosystem — to try to find ways to get her home safely and as quickly as we can.”
The Phoenix Mercury center and Olympian, who has played in Russia during the WNBA offseason to supplement her income, has been detained since she was arrested in mid-February at an airport on charges of possession of hashish oil. Information on her condition has been scant, in part because Griner’s representatives and officials are trying not to escalate the situation. The charges against Griner could carry a sentence of up to 10 years if she is convicted.
A U.S. Embassy official visited her on March 23, and she was “doing as well as can be expected,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said during a news conference at the time. “We’ll continue to work very closely with her legal team, with her broader network, to see to it that she is treated fairly and that her rights are respected.”
The WNBA season opens May 6.