Q&A: Why is Brittney Griner detained in Russia and when might she be released?
WNBA star Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia since Feb. 17.
Her arrest, incarceration and the fight to bring her home has triggered extensive questions The Times asked an array of experts to help answer.
Who is Brittney Griner and what was she doing in Russia?
Griner, who led the Phoenix Mercury to a WNBA championship in 2014, earned seven All-Star appearances and led the league in scoring twice (2017, 2019), is a 6-foot-9 Baylor alum. She is a two-time WNBA defensive player of the year and two-time Olympic gold medalist. She is often referred to as "BG" by friends and teammates. Her agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, wrote in an essay for The Times that Griner has a megawatt smile, gives the warmest hugs you'll ever receive, keeps shoes in the trunk of her to car to give to people experiencing houselessness around Phoenix and does volunteer work with kids who are bullied as she was as a child. Like many of her peers, she chose to spend her WNBA offseason competing in Russia. She played for UMMC Ekaterinburg, an elite club whose salaries far exceed the combined value of her WNBA and endorsement revneue.
Why was Brittney Griner detained by Russia?
On Feb.17, just before the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Griner was en route to join her club in Ekaterinburg after a FIBA team break when Russian officials took Griner into custody at a
