Fears escalate for WNBA star Brittney Griner as Russia could detain her in a LABOR CAMP for years, expert says
THE "Tom Brady of the WNBA" could be rushed through a sham Russian trial and sent to a labor camp if the US doesn't get her out soon, an expert warned.
Brittney Griner - a megastar in women's basketball - has been "wrongfully detained" in an unknown Moscow jail since February, the administration officially said on Tuesday.
She seemingly vanished for about a month after playing in a tournament within the country's borders.
Finally, reports surfaced in March that Russian law enforcement arrested Griner at an airport and accused her of smuggling drugs.
The Biden administration officially condemned the arrest and said she was "wrongfully detained" in an emphatic statement.
That means they believe the accusations are fabricated, legal expert Aron Solomon told The Sun.
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Bill Richardson, a UN ambassador who is trained in hostage negotiation, was brought in to secure her release, yet US officials won't officially say she's a political prisoner.
"She’s a hostage, a political detainee, whatever you want to call it," said Solomon, who is Esquire's Digital Chief Legal Analyst, even if the US won't officially acknowledge it.
"Russia knew they were going into Ukraine, and they needed political prisoners. They looked around for the highest-profile athlete, and that was Griner and they grabbed her at the airport."
Her friends, family, fans, and US diplomats are on pins and needles as they wait to see if she will have her scheduled hearing on May 19, which was originally set for March but bumped back.
"I predict the May 19 hearing won't happen," Solomon said. "Russia does not function under rule of law as the US does. This has become a political issue now far more than a legal issue.
"Russia will take their time working through any process they choose to follow here, whether it's standard legal procedure or not.
"At any point, Russia can speed up the (legal) process to get a guilty verdict and send her to a labor camp. And the longer Russia keeps her, the higher the stakes get."
WHAT'S RUSSIA'S END GAME?
The fact that Richardson entered the rapidly escalating situation is a "positive" sign, Solomon said, but there's still a long way to go.
"He has to understand the end game of both sides and what America is willing to give up," he said.
It's unknown what Russia wants, but Solomon said he believes they likely want the US to loosen the constricting economic sanctions.
He doesn't see a prisoner swap like the US pulled off for ex-Marine Trevor Reed, who's been jailed in Russia since 2019.
Ideally, the two sides will come to another agreement by May 19 and Griner can return home, but Solomon said it's unlikely and expects this situation to drag out for "months or even years."
"The US really has no leverage. Russia knows they have to do something. This is an American citizen," Solomon said. "I don't see them making another trade for a person. She's more valuable than that."
WHERE'S THE OUTRAGE?
The disturbing part of this story, Solomon said, is the lack of coverage and outrage in the US.
"If this was Kyrie Irving, this would be on the front page of papers every day," Solomon said. "We'd have #FreeKyrie hashtags at the top of trending topics every day."
This is the double standard of high-profile male athletes versus female athletes.
Griner won the WNBA championship in 2014 with the Phoenix Mercury and the gold medal during the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
She was a two-time gold medalist with Team USA at FIBA Women's Basketball World Championships in 2014 and 2018 and brought home MVP honors from the 2018 gold medal game.
In the WNBA, she's one of five players in league history to win defensive player of the year in back-to-back years, and she was named to the All-WNBA team five times.
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Her long list of accolades and championships in women's basketball has been compared to what seven-time Super Bowl champ Tom Brady has done on the football field.
"There's so little written about her, but we need to talk about it. This is one of the biggest diplomatic issues facing the United States right now," Solomon said.
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