A Russian court has extended the detention of WNBA star Brittney Griner until May 19, Russia’s Tass news agency reported Thursday, raising tensions to the most dangerous moment in US-Russia relations since the Cuban missile crisis of 1962.
Ms. Griner, 31, a seven-time WNBA All-Star center for the Phoenix Mercury, is being held on a drug charge that could carry up to 10 years in prison.
Russian Federal Customs said earlier this month that its officials had detained the American basketball player after finding vape cartridges containing hash oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport in February. They did not immediately release the name of Mrs. Griner, who was later identified by Tass.
Ms. Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, is one of many WNBA players who compete in the off-season in women’s international teams to supplement a salary that is a fraction of the salaries of their NBA counterparts. She played for the Russian team, UMMC Ekaterinburg, since 2014.
Texas Democrat Representative Colin Allred told the Times last week that Ms. Griner, a Texas resident, was detained on Feb. 17 and that he was working with the State Department to get her released. Russian authorities have so far rejected the Foreign Ministry’s request for a meeting between consular officials and Ms Griner, Mr Allred said.
US officials, including Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, have said certain details about Ms. Griner’s detention could not be made public due to privacy restrictions.
Since she was detained, Mrs. Griner’s family and friends have come forward to express their shared desire to get her home safely.
Mrs. Griner’s wife, Cherelle T. Griner† said in an Instagram post last week: “We love you baby!” and “There are no words to express this pain.”
The State Department has advised all US citizens in Russia to leave the country and has warned that the US embassy in Moscow has “serious restrictions” on its ability to assist Americans there. The WNBA said on March 5 that all of its other players in Ukraine and Russia had left those countries.