One of the US’s top athletes has been detained in Russia for almost a month. You would think that would be an enormous story, right? I mean, a celebrity caught sneezing is considered newsworthy (the actor Jennifer Garner, in case you missed it).
Wrong. Coverage of the detention of Brittney Griner, a star player in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and a two-time Olympic champion, was until very recently so sparse that there is a good chance this is the first time you are hearing about it. If so, here is the background: on 17 February, Griner, who plays for the Russian team UMMC Ekaterinburg during the WNBA offseason, was arrested at an airport near Moscow. The 31-year-old was accused by Russian customs authorities of having vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage. She faces up to 10 years in prison. That would be a nightmare for anyone, but it doesn’t help that Griner is black and openly gay. Russia, I don’t need to tell you, is hardly an LGBTQ+ paradise.
