For well over 100 days, American basketball ball star Brittney Griner has been held captive in a Russian prison, arrested for allegations of essentially possession of marijuana. Most of that you already know that, just as you likely also know of her contact with the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, as well as her recent guilty plea on the drug charge, something we’d been told is part of a larger strategy towards her hopeful release. Beyond that, there’s not much we know, at least not legally speaking. And most likely any actual legal maneuvering is happening under the shroud of diplomatic secrecy, as if the script for a future Tom Hanks movie.
Whether you are surprised that Griner, a legitimate super star of American women’s basketball since her days at Baylor years ago, is still imprisoned depends on your perspective on a whole bunch of things. Like the Russian penal system. Or the current American government. It may also depend on your broad view of crime and punishment, even though it seems hard to fathom any defense of Russian justice. For many, this case puts a spotlight on American discount of women’s sports, for surely if this were a male NBA star, the US would be more forceful. I can’t say if this is true or if that hypothetical force would make any difference, but it clearly represents a strong feeling by many who believe the US has been too passive, and that this event speaks to a larger patriarchy in American sports.
Of course, Griner was in Russia not as a tourist, but rather a player in their professional basketball league, one that pays far more than the American WNBA. A long list of American stars either supplement their US salary in Russia or play exclusively overseas where they can generate far greater earnings playing for owners with way more disposable cash. That, of course, is part of the inherent problem with what may now be an untenable situation. Once you play professional sports in Russia, you become subject to the laws and norms of their society. Some might also say you’ve become complicit in their operations, although that’s a bridge way too far for many.
Now, if this sounds familiar – athletes competing in a corrupt, oil rich nation because the pay is way better than the US – that’s because it is. More specifically, this is exactly what critics are saying about golfers who are playing in the Saudi backed LIV tour, where golfers are guaranteed way more money than they can earn on the US PGA Tour. And for that, they’ve been called everything from traitors to opportunists to simply good businessmen, earning generational wealth that’s typically not available in the US to all but the most rarified of golfing talent. They’re also now banned from most US events, something that’s likely hard to sustain against the allure of exorbitant cash prizes.
I won’t attempt to compare Russia to Saudi Arabia, if for no other reason than I’m highly unqualified to do so. But clearly both present ideological hurdles for anyone attempting the high ground on human rights. And by no means is this an excuse for Russia’s actions against Griner nor an attempt to shift the blame to her, who is clearly and solely the victim in her case. To arrest an American athletic star and threaten to imprison her for 10 years while you perpetuate war crimes across Ukraine is perhaps the truest definition of a rogue nation. Russia is the villain here. But moving forward, both in Russia, Saudi Arabia, and, perhaps Qatar, the host of this year’s World Cup, we should at least consider our own contribution to their criminal empires. Does that mean banning competition in similar nations? That’s hard line to cross, given the global state of sport and economics. But it should be a reminder that we can’t really have it both ways.
Speaking of which, NBA start LeBron James recently said on a podcast about Griner and the US, “how can she feel like America has her back,” and “I would be feeling like, do I even want to go back to America?” He walked those comments back quickly on Twitter. But he was reminded that he once jumped to the defense of China when someone critiqued their abusive governance of Hong Kong. Excuse the cynicism, but conviction is easy until it hurts your own bank account.
Of course, we’ll have more time in the future to talk about sports and hypocrisy. For now, the only thing that matters, is getting Brittney Griner back home.
Keith Strudler is the director of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. You can follow him on twitter at @KeithStrudler
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