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Miami Herald
Miami Herald
Sport
Greg Cote

Greg Cote: Why is Brittney Griner lost in Russia? Start with low WNBA pay — and NBA failing to help.

MIAMI — American basketball star Brittney Griner, one of the most prominent players in the WNBA, finds herself detained in Russia on drug charges that may well have been concocted to make her the political pawn she has become.

She has, in a way too real, become a prisoner of war as Vladimir Putin and Russia continue their murderous, unprovoked march across Ukraine, a heinous assault drawing global condemnation and escalating outside economic sanctions.

Russia is saying little, but it now appears Griner’s arrest might have been on or around Feb. 18. Notably, though, it was not made public until this week, just as President Biden stopped the flow of Russian gas and oil to the U.S. in a major move further damaging Russia’s cratering economy.

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