Russian forces detained the famous basketball player Brittney Griner last month after finding hashish oil in her luggage at the Sheremetyevo airport near Moscow. Griner might be facing 10-year imprisonment as Russian customs opened a criminal case into large-scale transportation of drugs, the New York Times reported.
The case of Brittney Griner, who is a two Olympic gold medal-winning basketball player, was widely shared lately after Russian customs released information about her arrest publicly on March 5. Her arrest came in conjunction with the events happening between Russia and Ukraine as well as the firm, harsh sanctions imposed by the Biden administration against Moscow.
If you needed more reasons to want to do everything possible to hurt Putin, here’s another: he’s literally holding AMERICAN CITIZENS captive on BS charges. Putin is the enemy. https://t.co/r3GL1nvU6o
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) March 6, 2022
Several conspiracy theories emerged on social media in the case of the basketball star as some people suggested that Russia is keeping her as a winning card and a hostage to stop the US from imposing further sanctions against Russia.
Others suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin had arrested the basketball player in order to particularly hurt Biden. On the other hand, another claimed that Russia took her as a hostage because she is a lesbian as LGBTQ+ members face formidable barriers in Russia.
Brittney Griner being taken hostage should serve as a warning to American and European companies inside Russia. Putin will take more hostages. Join the international boycott
— Andrea Chalupa ?? (@AndreaChalupa) March 5, 2022
On the other hand, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement last Sunday that the US is ready to provide all the assistance possible in order to help all Americans held abroad.
'There's only so much I can say given the privacy considerations at this point,' Blinken said when asked about the basketball star Griner adding that: 'We have an embassy team that's working on the cases of other Americans who are detained in Russia. We're doing everything we can to see to it that their rights are upheld and respected.'
So Russia, in an apparent White supremacist power move, has detained American athlete Brittney Griner for the past three weeks on charges that she allegedly carried vape cartridges in her luggage. Sounds like a political hostage. #FreeBrittney https://t.co/OSMPGYXrGv
— Jon Hutson (Albalal Alasli) (@JonHutson) March 5, 2022
A hashtag #FreeBrittney is making the rounds online in support of Griner and slamming Russia’s detention of the American basketball star. Some people also claimed that Russia had trumped her on drug charges to keep her as a ‘high-profile hostage.’
USA Basketball’s official Twitter account shared a post about Brittney Griner saying that they are closely following up the basketball star’s legal case in Russia and announced their full support.
I hate to say this, but we are not going to see Brittney Griner for awhile. Whether she had vape pens or not, this is a power play by Russia, and expect more of this as this war w Ukraine goes on.
— ProfB (@AntheaButler) March 5, 2022
About Brittney Griner:
Brittney Yevette Griner is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Baylor Lady Bears in Waco, Texas.
In 2009, Griner was named the nation's #1 high school women's basketball player by Rivals.com. She was selected to the 2009 Phoenix Mercury All-American basketball team. In 2012, she received the Best Female Athlete ESPY Award.
