She is arguably the “most famous female basketball player of all time” and is being held in Moscow amid war. Her family, friends and fans want to know why Britney Greener’s “disappearance” from the face of the Earth has not caught the public eye anymore.
In one of Britney Greeneer’s last public appearances, recorded on a security camera, the American professional basketball player appears to pass through the control of Moscow airport holding a small, black suitcase. Greiner, a star of the Phoenix Mercury team, had landed at Sheremetyevo Airport, outside Moscow, to play another season in the Russian league.
According to the BBC, in the security video, she is wearing running sneakers, a black suit and a black hooded sweatshirt that reads “Black Lives For Peace” on the back, while her dark hair hangs in braids under her shoulders.
One month silent
In another shot, we see her sitting in front of a man, who appears to be a customs agent, shaking her head as if to say “no”. Then nothing – until a Russian photo of her appeared on state television last week.
Greener, 31, is believed to have been arrested by Russian authorities on drug charges. One month after her arrest, little is known about the conditions of her detention.
Uncertainty over her fate has fueled an outburst of support for the player, who is considered by fans and sports analysts to be perhaps the greatest female basketball player of all time.
Fans and experts say the attention she has been given compared to male players exposes long-standing gender inequalities in professional sports.
“If he was an NBA player of his caliber, that would be on the cover of not just every sports page but every news page in the world,” said Tamryn Spruill, a sports journalist writing a book about the WNBA and Greiner.
“Britney Greener, a nine-year championship veteran, is the ‘best of the best,'” said Melissa Isaacson, a sports writer and professor at Northwestern University in Illinois. “This is Tom Brady of her sport,” said Isaacson.
Who is Britney Greener?
Born in Houston, Texas, she won a basketball scholarship to Baylor University, where she led her team to a national championship. Few have done what Britney Greener has done – to win a college championship, WNBA and Euroleague titles and an Olympic gold medal. And, as is well known, her ability to nail is unparalleled.
Off the field, she has also been considered a pioneer, as she revealed that she is gay at the age of 22, around the time she entered professional sports. She then became the first choice in the WNBA Draft that year and, a little later, the first openly gay athlete to be backed by Nike.

Nevertheless, Ms. Greiner had a second job, so she flew to Russia – to play for the EuroLeague UMMC team in Ekaterinburg, where she worked since 2014 during the US off-season.
About half of WNBA players play abroad during the off-season. For most, it’s one way to increase their income: WNBA players earn about five times as much in Russia as in the US.
The White House is aware of the situation
Russia’s Federal Customs Service said in a press release that a detective dog had led authorities to search the American basketball player’s hand luggage and that steam cartridges containing hashish oil had been found. Russia’s state-run news agency Tass has identified the player as Ms Griner.
Russian authorities confirmed her detention only in the third week of March, although they announced that they had stopped her at the airport in February. Where he is being held and under what circumstances is not publicly known.
US authorities and Britney Greene’s spokesmen have remained silent, except to say they are working to bring her back to her homeland.
A State Department spokesman confirmed the player’s detention, telling the BBC that “they are aware of this and are working closely on it.” US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said last week that US officials were “doing everything they can” to help.
Although there is no indication that Ms. Greiner’s arrest is linked to the invasion of Ukraine, some US officials have suggested that strained US-Russian relations could jeopardize her safe return.
“We do not want Mrs Greener to be a pawn in the ongoing political battle around the world,” said John Garamendi, a member of the House of Representatives’s Armed Services Committee. “The war in Ukraine has effectively severed diplomatic ties between the United States and Russia,” Garamendi said. “This will make the issue worse.”
He could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of drug charges.
Source: News Beast

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