Three Time All-American WNBA National/Olympic Gold Medal Winner and Phoenix Mercury Star Detained in Russia on Drug Charges

Intro: Interesting side hustle entangling a U.S. citizen’s fate in the special military operations between Russia and the West over Ukraine.

WHAT MOST OF US DID NOT KNOW:

Many W.N.B.A. players compete in Russia, where salaries are more lucrative, during the American league’s off-season.

> Griner has played for the Russian team UMMC Ekaterinburg for several years.

> Griner is set to earn about $228,000 with the Mercury in the 2022 season, according to the website Her Hoop Stats, just shy of the league’s maximum salary. Some players have made substantially more money with Russian teams, like Griner’s Mercury teammate Diana Taurasi, who earned around $1.5 million with UMMC Ekaterinburg in 2015.

> The Russian Federal Customs Service said its officials had detained the player after finding vape cartridges that contained hashish oil in her luggage at the Sheremetyevo airport near Moscow, and it released a video of a traveler going through airport security.

> The screening at the airport occurred in February, according to the Customs Service, raising the possibility that Griner, 31, has been in custody for at least several days.

The Russian news agency Tass - citing a law enforcement source - identified Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner as the American basketball player detained in Russia.

Credit...Paul Beaty/Associated Press

Key Background

Griner, 31, is a seven-time WNBA All-Star and has won two Olympic gold medals. Like a number of WNBA players, Griner plays in Russia in the winter off-season to supplement her income. She has played for Russia’s Yekaterinburg UMMC since 2015. The WNBA told the Times that all of its players have left Russia and Ukraine, except Griner.

March 5, 2022 11:59 AM EST

State Department Urges U.S. Citizens To Leave Russia ‘Immediately’ As American Basketball Player Detained

The State Department warned U.S. citizens in Russia to depart immediately Saturday – ramping up the level of alarm from a February 27 advisory in which it told Americans to “consider” leaving immediately – and continued to direct Americans not to travel to the country in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The State Department warned that Russian security officials could harass U.S. citizens while the U.S. Embassy has “limited ability to assist” Americans, and the sharply diminished number of flights into and out of the country.

A WNBA player was detained at Russia’s Sheremetyevo airport, near Moscow, after officials found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage, the New York Times and USA Today reported on Saturday, citing the Russian Federal Customs Service. Russian news agency Tass identified the player as Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner, citing an anonymous law enforcement source.

The Times reports Griner could face up to 10 years in prison, and the WNBA said in a statement to USA Today her “her swift and safe return” is the organization’s main priority. Read more about her detainment here.

— Anna Kaplan

Further Reading

Russia Says It Has American Basketball Player in Custody (New York Times)

WNBA star Brittney Griner detained in Russia on drug charges (USA Today)