(NewsNation) —WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Brittney Griner, who has been detained in Russia on allegations of drug smuggling, is currently safe, but that it’s the league’s top priority to get her home.
Engelbert made her comments during the league’s player draft.
“This is an unimaginable situation for BG to be in,” Engelbert said. “She continues to have our full support.”
Griner, one of the WNBA’s biggest stars, was arrested during an airport security check-in in Moscow for allegedly having cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage. It’s a crime that could carry up to 10 years in prison for Griner.
“We’re trying everything we can, every angle, working through with her legal representation, her agent, elected leaders, the administration, just everybody in our ecosystem to try to find ways to get her home safely and as quickly as we can,” Engelbert said.
Griner’s situation is highlighting the cases of other Americans caught in the political crossfire of the war in Ukraine. The Biden administration is facing a multitude of challenges from Russia negotiating the release of the basketball superstar and two other Americans — former U.S. Marines Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed.
Whelan was convicted and sentenced to 16 years in 2018 on espionage charges both the U.S. and his family say are fabricated, while Reed was sentenced to nine years in prison for allegedly assaulting two Russian police officers on a drunken night out.
In a hearing overnight, a Russian judge dismissed Reed’s appeal of his conviction and sent his case back to a lower court. U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan, who was at the proceeding, said he’s “very disappointed that justice has again been denied.”
In an interview with NewsNation, Reed’s father, Joey, said family members believe Russia is using Reed as a bargaining chip with the U.S.
“It’s obviously a political case,” Joey Reed said. “We plan on taking it all the way to the Russian supreme court.”