Why Isn't Brittney Griner the Biggest Sports Story in the Country? (Russia)

[iemanja]

WNBA start and gold medal winner, Birttney Griner.

And for more than a month now, she has been in the custody of the Russian government. Yet until Russian officials released a statement over the weekend saying they had detained Griner after finding hashish oil in her airport bag, it seemed that nobody had noticed. And the reaction since the arrest has been stunningly quiet. One of the greatest athletes in American sports — a gold-medal winner, a superstar, a champion — was arrested in a dangerous and volatile country that has suddenly become a pariah on the world stage. Making equivalences between sports only takes you so far here, but seriously: Imagine if Tom Brady were being held by Russian officials right now.

It is unclear how directly Griner’s plight connects to the catastrophic Russian invasion of Ukraine, and her detention has been overshadowed by the death and destruction wrought by Putin. And part of the muted response is likely due to sensitivity of the negotiations between Russian and American officials. Griner’s wife asked for privacy on Instagram, and it’s clear the precariousness of the situation has led to a certain institutional resistance to even mentioning it: That WNBA.com doesn’t include a single story about one of the organization’s best players being detained speaks to this dynamic. It is also worth remembering, as ESPN’s T.J. Quinn did on Monday, that Griner, whatever the specifics, is likely in some danger; Quinn noted that “as a 6-9 Black gay American woman, she’s a powerful cultural symbol,” and “even in the best case, she’s in for a long legal slog in the Russian criminal justice system. And there’s little the US govt can do about it.”

Another motive the WNBA may have for staying quiet is its own culpability in the situation. The reason Griner was in Russia in the first place — to play off-season basketball, as she has done there for years — is that the league does not pay its superstars the way other sports leagues do. As Tom Ley from Defector pointed out:

The league’s low salaries and minimal efforts towards player support have for years forced even its biggest stars to treat their time in the WNBA as a part-time job. The maximum WNBA salary in 2022 was just over $228,000, and players can make far more than that playing in leagues overseas. In 2015, Diana Taurasi was paid $1.5 million to skip the WNBA season entirely and play for UMMC Ekaterinburg, and Liz Cambage recently revealed that she has made “five to eight times” as much money playing overseas than she has in the WNBA.

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/03/why-isnt-brittney-griner-the-biggest-sports-story.html

[Dan]

1. My thought on this

Is that some report indicated that they found traces of a drug during a search? I don’t know the validity of that, but I do know from my time overseas - that some foreign governments have a zero tolerance when it comes to drugs.

[Abnredleg]

4. Vaping capsules of hashish oil

[Dan]

8. Hashish oil

Is that an illegal drug?

[Mariana]

12. It's cannabis. nt.

[LisaL]

13. In Russia it is.

NT

[Bev54]

19. CBD oil not hashish oil big difference.

[Dan]

21. Laughing, I don't have a clue about either one....

[LisaL]

23. Hashish oil is what being reported.

Not cbd.
"Russian customs officials said a U.S. basketball player had vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. A Russian news agency identified the player as Griner."

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/05/sports/basketball/russia-brittney-griner.html

[Bev54]

26. Well they originally called it cbd oil, I doubt very much anyone with her

experience (7 years in Russia) living in Russia would be stupid enough to take hashish oil. Doesn't make any sense to me, is that the Russian version?

[LisaL]

30. I don't know who originally called it cbd oil.

NT

[Hekate]

37. Dame Rumor

[BlueLucy]

32. Who called it cbd?

I don't know of anyone who vapes cbd but I suppose it's possible. I saw this video here and it looks like several packages.

[Bev54]

33. It was the original story from either CNN or MSNBC before they even had the

video.

[LisaL]

34. So basically you don't have the link.

NT

[Bev54]

35. No I am not going to go looking for the link because it is not that important to me

[Treefrog]

43. The CNN story I saw early said hash oil.

I only saw CBD mentioned here.

[elias7]

63. The vid shows them searching a gray bag that she was not carrying

[Mariana]

66. Plenty of people are that stupid.

I'm not saying I think she's guilty, but it's far from impossible. Plenty of people are that stupid.

[iemanja]

17. It's also possible

This is a power play on Russia's part.

[cinematicdiversions]

2. Because no one knows who she is honestly. Heck no one noticed she was missing for three weeks.

And before people cry racism or sexism, I assure you if say one of the Williams sisters was being held in Russia it is all we would hear about 24/7


Being in the WNBA is akin to a witness protection program.

[iemanja]

3. There are people who follow women's basketball

And they know her. Women's sports aren't trash, and their players aren't insignificant. They matter. People who watch the Olympics basketball games also know her.

And what if this were a regular US citizen would no notoriety? Would you still be so sanguine about their being held by the Russian government? Or do only the widely famous count?

[cinematicdiversions]

11. The question asked was " Why Isn't Brittney Griner the Biggest Sports Story in the Country?"

What I said was in response to the question.

I have no doubt there is a core group of fans for the sport. But in reality, that does not mean the players are household names. (In all fairness, the vast majority of men's basketball players are not household names either)

Again, read the question and my response. No judgement. I am simply answering why the story is not "bigger".

[iemanja]

14. I don't follow team sports at all

But I know her from the Olympics. It's hard for me to imagine that I know who she is and sports fans don't.

[leftieNanner]

5. We were aware of her detention

But we follow women's basketball. Our two daughters played.

I think it was incredibly stupid of her to take CBD vapes into Russia. Or anywhere overseas for that matter.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

10. .

I think it was incredibly stupid of her to take CBD vapes into Russia.

The Russian border security says she did. It think it's incredibly stupid to believe everything they say.

[Bev54]

20. I am not even sure she did, could have been planted or many people do not

understand they may have a trace of thc but it is usually very very minor and you certainly are not going to get high from it.

[iemanja]

16. It's also possible

that Russia is holding her in a power play.

[BlueLucy]

27. Not cbd. THC and more than one package from the video I saw.

Probably a set up. Can't trust Russia.

[elias7]

64. The vid shows a search of a gray bag. She was not carrying a gray in the first part of the vid

[WhiskeyGrinder]

7. Plenty of people know who she is, honestly.

Being in the WNBA is akin to a witness protection program.

You can do better than this.

[cinematicdiversions]

15. Fai enough that was a snarky stretch.

But honestly, out of context, how many people would recognize her or even have heard her name before this incident?

[Deep State Witch]

9. If She Did Take CBD Into Russia

It was incredibly stupid of her. However, I've heard too many stories of the FSB/KGB planting drugs on foreigners to be skeptical.

[Reader Rabbit]

18. Because she's Black and female and a lesbian?

Honestly, this says as much about the U.S. as it does about Russia.

[Retrograde]

39. And has tats

and in general doesn't come across like a sweet young blonde.

I know little about her, but given Putin's past actions I'm inclined to believe she was set up and unfortunately is going to be used for propaganda purposes.

[a kennedy]

47. + 100,000,000

[uponit7771]

44. +1,

[TheGallopingDingDong]

22. The entire WNBA fanbase posted in this thread.

That should tell you everything.

[iemanja]

24. You joined DU

just to inform us how unimportant the WNBA is?

[Celerity]

28. welcome to DU, enjoy your stay

[GP6971]

31. You feel the same

for all women's sports?

[NewHendoLib]

38. so what exactly does it tell you?

[obamanut2012]

45. Nice sexist jab

You created an account for this sexist shit? Get an actual hobby.

[Takket]

25. it's a pretty big story. it is on ESPN's homepage

The "WNBA doesn't play its players enough" is a pretty absurd argument the article makes though. The WNBA loses money on an annual basis. If anything the players are overpaid. The NBA subsidizes it with its revenue to keep the WBNA afloat.

Can't speak for every country but Russian oligarchs basically run their women's league at a massive loss because they want to, and have money to burn. it is a sort of "bragging rights" thing for billionaire friends to try and win championships from each other. The players are being paid to amuse them, not because the game is making a huge profit.

This article explains it very well:

https://news.yahoo.com/brittney-griners-russian-team-owned-135920004.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAN4DFgoG3JZe-Up5Kn4LyBvuR0eBwcuUqpyBxUsE2erw4zMWe79ijgHPNo_yeRcfySpFl48yzt34OmQbuoPi-PI5c9tJlvWSSTxhppAJXcvkxTGKcpmsw7Z2ul-nnX6ATNdw4jmHPHZgvzu7FbiCjgnwxiVSO0-ADyePmVozmS1S

"After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the rampant male chauvinism that was part of that culture came roaring back," he added.

Makhmudov — who is considered a Russian oligarch with close ties to President Vladimir Putin — "absolutely" could be employing that same strategy to win over business leaders across Europe and the West, Edelman confirmed.

Malamud, meanwhile, thinks Makhmudov's investment in women's basketball may have more of a local focus. Buying UMMC Ekateringburg and turning it into a women's basketball juggernaut may have been the Uzbek-born Russian businessman's attempt "to endear himself to the population" of Russia's fourth-largest city.

"The entire roster's salaries are probably pocket change to him," Malamud said of Makhmudov. "I mean, even if [the people] don't really care about women basketball, the fact that their team won six EuroLeague titles is something that they're proud of."

[Hekate]

29. Because a war started. I wish her the best, but she's the hostage of a crazed warlord now...

And, in case you guys haven’t thought of this yet: I’m pretty sure she was set up and that stuff was put in her luggage by someone else.

[jcgoldie]

36. exactly

It completely sucks but what can be negotiated when we are doing everything in our power to isolate Russia from the world and make it implode? It is terrible timing.

[DET]

40. Why Should We Care?

I had no idea who this person was until her recent detainment. Personally, I don’t think that sports stars should be treated differently from anyone else who is dumb enough to bring an illegal substance into a zero tolerance dictatorship, especially during a time of potential world war. I guess that it’s possible that she was set up, but I haven’t seen any evidence to that effect. I have no doubt that Russia will try to use this woman as a bargaining chip, but I hope that our country's rabid sports fanaticism doesn’t override common sense and make this an international issue. There are much bigger issues at stake.

[iemanja]

41. I guess if you don't care about a person being held by the Russians

You don't care about this black, lesbian woman either.

[DET]

42. What???

I’m sorry, but your reply makes no sense. Your original focus was on the fact that this woman is a sports star. Now you’ve changed your focus to the fact that she’s a black lesbian. I don’t care if she’s a purple trisexual Olympic skater. I also wouldn’t care if it was it was Tom Brady; it just doesn’t matter. We’re on the brink of WW3. There are thousands of Ukrainians being killed as we speak; one privileged American should not dominate the discussion or influence foreign policy.

[iemanja]

50. Don't you think the fact she is a black woman

and a lesbian affects the media's interest in the story? The headline, by the way, is the author of the article's, not my own creation. And it says the biggest "SPORTS story," not news story.

Your post, however, was "who cares," indicating that you didn't care. As you repeated again, you simply don't care about her or any other American caught in Russian custody. I fail to see what was inaccurate about my point, since you just confirmed it.

Additionally, most people can hold concern for more than one person or group of people in their minds at a single time. I myself happen to care about both Ukrainians and this woman caught in what may be a Russian gulag. Your claim that she doesn't matter because of Ukrainians may make sense for you, but not for me.

Funny how you cared enough to spend two posts telling us how much you don't care, and how we shouldn't either.

[ecstatic]

61. You assume that it was not planted by the Russians

Russians understand how Black Americans are treated in this country so they know they can get away with doing anything without much pushback. Smh

[obamanut2012]

46. It's all over the news and social media, especially sports news

It's just that it's not a "DU thing," so it's not here.

[iemanja]

48. I hadn't heard about it until I read this article,

but that's just me. I'm not sure why the author says it's under noticed.

[ProfessorGAC]

49. Agreed!

It just so happens other things are even bigger news.
Funny how when an American company continues business in Russia right now (and i think such decisions are foolish) they are roundly castigated here. Rightfully so.
But, a player goes there for the money & she's a martyr.
Her motivation is the same as Amway. I approve of neithet doing business in Russia right now.

[iemanja]

51. It's not the same

Corporations exploit workers and situations to extract wealth. A basketball player is usually from a poor background and is trying to make money for themselves, not exploiting others. It's not a parallel.

[ProfessorGAC]

53. Yes It Is

Save your speech for the proletariat for someone else. Every corporation is not inherently evil.
They're both chasing money. Perfectly parallel.
Her background has nothing to do with it.

[iemanja]

54. Well, I disagree

greatly. Let's leave it at that.

[Treefrog]

55. She's not poor.

Far from it.

[iemanja]

56. Chances are she grew up poor.

And women in the WNBA are paid a small fraction of what men are. That is why they go to foreign countries to play.

[Treefrog]

57. She makes over $200 thousand a year.

That’s not counting the money she earns overseas.

[iemanja]

58. Compare that to what male basketball players get paid

and tell me that it's equitable. Also, consider how short a basketball player's career is.

[Treefrog]

59. Nowhere did I say it was equitable, did I?

I said she wasn’t poor..

She’s not.

[iemanja]

60. Nowhere did I say she was poor

I said that many basketball players grow up poor.

[Treefrog]

62. Ok.

[gulliver]

65. They probably framed her. She's useful to rally pro-Putin sentiment in Russia and the GOP

She's black and a lesbian, so she's a perfect punching bag for Putinism and the yahoos who control the Republican Party. I seriously doubt the Russians caught her with anything they didn't plant.

[maxsolomon]

67. I heard about this story the day it broke.

I know who she is; I've known since she was in college, and IDGAF about basketball in general.

She's not in Russian prison because she's black, gay, or tattooed. She's there because she is a famous American and Russia needs bargaining chips.