*The president of the WNBA Players Association believes Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner is imprisoned in Russia “because of a gender issue.”
The seven-time WNBA All-Star has been detained in Russian since February. She was arrested in the country after arriving at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport on a flight from New York. Officials found multiple vape cartridges containing “significant amounts” of cannabis oil in her luggage.
Griner, 31, is reportedly charged with smuggling “narcotic drugs” into Russia. She faces five to 10 years in prison if convicted, according to CNN.
Griner has played in Russia during the offseason since 2015. She is “a member of the UMMC Ekaterinburg, a Russian basketball team that competes in the Russian Premier League and FIBA Europe’s EuroLeague Women,” per PEOPLE. Her arrest came several weeks before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
READ MORE: Brittney Griner Arrest Photo Released – Family, Friends Describe Painful Uncertainty | VIDEO
Nneka Ogwumike, president of the WNBA Players Association, appeared on “Good Morning America” Tuesday to discuss Griner’s situation.
“We move intentionally and given the nature of Brittney’s situation — it was very important for us to be intentional about doing the best thing to ensure that we don’t compromise her coming home,” Ogwumike told host Robin Roberts.
“A lot of that had to do with educating ourselves about the details of what was going on. As much as we could know. But then understanding how important it was for us to be strategic about when and how we speak about her.”
Ogwumike said Griner’s gender is the reason why she remains in pretrial detention.
“When is it not? It’s disappointing that the question of it being a gender issue is top of mind now when it comes to this type of circumstance and the reality is she’s over there because of a gender issue, pay inequity,” she said.
“I played in Russia for four years and played in Poland for one year and China for two years. We go over there to supplement our incomes and quite frankly to maintain our game. Our teams encourage us to keep up with our game by going over there and being more competitive. There’s so much that’s at play that, you know, we live politically intrinsically.”
“The Olympic gold medalist spends her WNBA offseasons competing for Russian club UMMC Ekaterinburg,” per Business Insider. WNBA players earn higher salaries overseas than in the US, according to the report. For the last seven years, Griner has played in Russia in the winter, earning over $1 million per season. Her salary with the Mercury is reportedly $228,000 a season.
Griner requested to be released on house arrest in Russia but was denied last month.
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