Brittney Griner has released a statement and set of photographs to her Instagram after finally landing on US soil, following her 10-month-long detainment in Russia. In the statement, she mentions wanting to jump right back in the saddle and play for the WNBA this season. Griner’s detainment sheds light on sex-based disparity in elite-level basketball.
Backstory
Griner was sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison on August 4th, after less than one gram of cannabis oil was found in her luggage, which the basketballer said was an “honest mistake.” Despite Russian law stating that a prison sentence of up to two weeks can be used to punish those in possession of up to six grams of marijuana, Griner was caught up in what the US state department declared to be a “sham trial.”
Griner was officially released from one of many Russian penal colonies–which are known to be abusive, racist and homophobic–when both governments agreed to swap the basketballer for infamous Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who had over a decade left on his US prison sentence. The US was unable to secure the release of former US marine Paul Whelan, who is detained in Russia on suspicions of spying, despite attempts.
While on the plane home, staff assumed Griner wanted space after her ordeal. But, in fact, that could not be further from the truth.
Roger D. Carstens, the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, executed the prisoner swap and rode with Griner on the plane to San Antonio. In an interview with CNN, Carstens said: “When she finally gets on the U.S. plane, I said, ‘Brittney, you must have been through a lot over the last 10 months. ‘Here’s your seat. Please feel free to decompress. We’ll give you your space.’
“She said, ‘Oh no. I’ve been in prison for 10 months now listening to Russian. I want to talk, but first of all, who are these guys?’ She moved past me and went to every member on that crew, looked them in the eyes, shook their hands, asked about them, got their names, making a personal connection with them. It was really amazing.”
Title IX and sex-based disparity in sports
Once Griner hit US soil, she was sent to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, for routine medical evaluation. She was offered a basketball and hoop while in Russian pre-trial detention but she declined, only picking the ball back up when in Texas. It was there that she took her first dunk since her detainment while wearing a tee with “Title IX” written on it.
Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 is a federal law that states: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”
According to the Women’s Sports Foundation, “Title IX gives women athletes the right to equal opportunity in sports in educational institutions that receive federal funds, from elementary schools to colleges and universities.”
Griner’s shirt alludes to why she went to Russia in the first place: despite being one of the most skilled and successful WNBA stars, a No. 1 draft, and a two-time Olympian, Griner played the offseason in Russia when men with equivalent rank in the male league would not have to. “Modest W.N.B.A. salaries push dozens of players to international teams in the off-season to make more money,” according to the NY Times.
In fact, the Russian team Griner was traveling to play for, UMMC Yekaterinburg, was reportedly going to pay her $1 million — quadruple the maximum WNBA salary.
Griner’s terrifying ordeal did not stop dozens of American men, most of who had little chance of making the NBA, from choosing to play for Russian basketball teams during her detention and the war in Ukraine. However, almost all female basketballers stayed away, taking pay cuts to compete for lower-paying teams in other countries.
While big-name NBA stars, such as Stephan Curry and LeBron James, publicly supported Griner while she was imprisoned, critics believed that the NBA, which owns 40 percent of the women’s league, did not do or say enough. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said that government officials had asked the league to be low-key, so as to not inflame the situation.
There seems to be a glass ceiling in women’s sports. Some wonder whether a male basketballer at the top of his game, like Griner is, would have been detained as long or at all. It’s almost certain that the online trolls would not have been as harsh as they were, and are, with Brittney Griner.
Beyond financial disparities, let’s look at public perception: Griner’s sex, race and sexual orientation have meant misogynists, racists and homophobes bonded through trolling online over her plight. It would be absolutely dishonest to suggest a white, straight male basketballer of equivalent success and skill level would have been treated the same.
If Griner was one of the best male players, like she is one of the best female players, she would not have even been in politically hostile Russia during the offseason. If she was white, she would not be seen as disposable: accidentally bringing 0.7 grams of cannabis oil into Russia, when its law can punish that with a two-week sentence, would not have “justified” her detention to trolls. If she was straight and embraced heteronormative sex-based stereotypes, she would not be referred to as a man or have had homophobic insults hurled at her.
The outrageous bullying did not begin when the basketball star was locked up in Russia. Griner cites being bullied for her body, voice and chest her entire life. Once she earned fame, she would get tweets and Instagram comments wishing her a happy Father’s Day, taunting that she was a man. The treatment of Brittney Griner is explicitly racialized, sexualized, and homophobic.
Brittney Griner’s statement
While there are important political questions surrounding Brittney Griner’s detainment, the good news is that she’s home and well enough to address her time imprisoned.
In an Instagram statement, Griner spoke about how having faith and support got her through the ordeal. “It feels so good to be home! The last 10 months have been a battle at every turn. I dug deep to keep my faith and it was the love from so many of you that helped keep me going. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone for your help.”
She thanked the biggest players in the process of bringing her home. “I am grateful to each person who advocated for me, especially my wife, Cherelle Griner, my family, Lindsay Kagawa Colas and Casey Wasserman and my whole team at Wasserman, Vince Kozar and the Phoenix Mercury, the players of the WNBA, and my entire WNBA family, Terri Jackson and the WNBPA staff, my Russian legal team Maria Blagovolina and Alex Boykov, the leaders, activists, and grassroots organizations, Gov. Richardson and Mickey Bergman of the Richardson Center, the Bring Our Families Home Campaign, Roger Carstens and the SPEHA team, and of course, a special thank you to President Biden, Vice President Harris, Secretary Blinken and the entire Biden-Harris Administration.”
Griner said that she would use her platform to help bring other detained Americans home, specifically mentioning Paul Whelan. “President Biden, you brought me home and I know you are committed to bringing Paul Whelan and all Americans home too. I will use my platform to do whatever I can to help you. I also encourage everyone that played a part in bringing me home to continue their efforts to bring all Americans home. Every family deserves to be whole.”
Grateful to be home for the holidays, and for the staff during her routine medical evaluation, Griner continued: “As I transition home to enjoy the holidays with my family, I want to acknowledge and thank the entire PISA staff and medical team at the San Antonio Fort Sam Houston Base. I appreciate the time and care to make sure I was okay and equipped with the tools for this new journey.”
Finally, she spoke about resuming her basketball career as soon as possible: “I also want to make one thing very clear: I intend to play basketball for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury this season, and in doing so, I look forward to being able to say ‘thank you’ to those of you who advocated, wrote, and posted for me in person soon.”
