Brittney Griner is OK, for now, according to U.S. officials who finally got access to the WNBA star who’s been detained in Russia for the last month.CNN reported that a staffer from the American embassy in Russia had met with Griner in person on Tuesday and that she was “in good condition” despite being incarcerated for the past month without access to family, friends, American lawyers or consular officials during that time.
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From CNN
The embassy official was granted consular access to Griner on Tuesday, according to Price, the first official government access given to Griner since she had been detained by Russia since mid-February.
“We were able to check on her condition, we will continue to work very closely with her legal team, with her broader network, to see to it that she is treated fairly,” Price told CNN’s Poppy Harlow.
It’s the first update on Griner’s whereabouts or condition since it was revealed earlier this month that Russian authorities had detained her at an airport, ostensibly for drug possession, as she was preparing to play for a Russian team during the WNBA’s offseason.
Her detention has drawn outrage in the U.S. that ranges from skepticism about the timing of detaining Griner as Russia began its Ukraine invasion, criticism of WNBA wages and working conditions which led to one of its biggest stars traveling to a hostile nation to earn more money and commentary about whether Griner’s detention would be treated more urgently by government and media if she were a male athlete in the NBA. Griner is arguably the best player, and certainly one of the most decorated players, in the WNBA’s 25-year history. But despite her two Olympic medals, seven All-Star appearances and one WNBA championship, she earns only $664,544 over three years on her WNBA contract. That’s a fraction of the reported $1.5 million she makes playing for UMMC Ekaterinburg in Moscow in the WNBA offseason.
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