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State Department spokesman Ned Price on Tuesday acknowledged the Tass report, saying: “I’ve seen the reports emanate from Russia that her detention has been extended. Our position for some time on this has been very clear: Brittney Griner should not be detained.”
Griner was detained Feb. 17, one week before Russia invaded Ukraine, at an airport near Moscow after authorities said they discovered vape cartridges containing hashish oil — which in Russia can carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years — in a search of her bag. Griner, a two-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist and a seven-time all-star with the Phoenix Mercury, plays for UMMC Ekaterinburg in Russia during the WNBA offseason.
Efforts to secure her freedom were initially conducted quietly but have become more vocal and visible as her detention has stretched into months. In May, the State Department reclassified her case, saying she has been wrongfully detained and transferring oversight of the case to the State Department’s Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs.
Griner’s wife and legal representatives have been in contact with her, with wife Cherelle last month telling “Good Morning America” that she hoped President Biden would take action, saying, “If they’re holding her because they want you to do something, then I want you to do it.” The WNBA sought to raise the profile of her case as well by placing her initials and No. 42 on its courts. In early June, members of the Boston Celtics wore “We Are BG” T-shirts to practice as they prepared for the NBA Finals.
In an hour-long meeting Monday, U.S. officials who specialize in hostage negotiations and wrongfully detained Americans were present, the Associated Press reported, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently spoke with Griner’s wife.
Mercury players, coaches and staff members and Women’s National Basketball Players Association members were encouraged to “keep speaking her name, to keep holding them accountable,” the Mercury’s Brianna Turner said in a statement on the team’s Twitter account. “We’re here to do whatever we can to amplify and keep BG at the forefront, which is more important than any basketball game and anything else that’s going on in our lives,” star player Diana Taurasi said in a statement posted on Twitter by the Mercury after the meeting. “We want BG to come home as soon as possible; it’s number one on our list.”
The Mercury is in Washington for Sunday and Tuesday night games against the Mystics. The previous day, the team met with State Department officials, who shared details about their efforts to assist Griner.
“They were able to share some more details about her detainment and her circumstances,” Mercury Coach Vanessa Nygaard said. “That was really helpful for us, and then also just to understand the processes a little bit more and how her change of status affected things. So I think it overall was a really, really good meeting for our team, and we felt really positive after and I was really grateful for those people making that time.”
Griner’s pretrial detention was also extended last month and, at that time, Price said she was “doing as well as can be expected under what can only be described as exceedingly difficult circumstances.”
PJ Morales contributed to this report, which has been updated.
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