WNBA Players Won’t Compete In Russia After Brittney Griner Charges

A number of WNBA all-star players have decided not to return to Russia due to safety concerns following the imprisonment of Brittney Griner, according to Gay Times.

Russia had been the preferred off-season location for WNBA players. The country offered more generous rewards, which could exceed $1,000,000 (approximately £890,000), as well as better resources and amenities.

However, since the legal issues Brittney Griner has faced, there are concerns about playing in Russia during the winter months.

Griner was arrested in February this year, detained and then convicted of the charges. She was sentenced to nine years in prison for drug possession and smuggling with criminal intent. The basketball player was also charged one million rubles.

The events of her case took place against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Breanna Stewart, who played alongside Griner for UMMC Ekaterinburg said: “Honestly, my time in Russia has been wonderful, but especially with BG still wrongfully detained there, nobody’s going to go there until she’s home. I think that, you know, now, people want to go overseas and if the money is not much different, they want to be in a better place.” Steward and several other all-star players will be going to different countries this year.

Courtney Vandersloot, who plays for Chicago Sky, obtained her Hungarian citizenship in 2016 and will be playing there during the off-season. She said that significant changes would have to be made for her to consider going back to Russia. “The thing about it is, we were treated so well by our club and made such strong relationships with those people, I would never close the door on that. The whole situation with BG makes it really hard to think that it’s safe for anyone to go back there right now.”

Read related myGwork articles here:

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