Brittney Griner lost her appeal this week and was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony.
Griner, a WNBA basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury, pled guilty to illegally bringing a THC cartridge for a vape pen into Russia. The timing of her detention, however, led people to believe it was politically motivated.
Griner’s detention occurred as America was ramping up its effort to aid Ukrainian war efforts. Putin was clearly trying to send a diplomatic message to America that there would be consequences.
Some may have forgotten this even happened, as it was in the earliest parts of the current Russo-Ukraine conflict, but its implications are far-reaching. If the U.S. allows other countries to hold its citizens because of trumped-up charges, who’s to say it couldn’t happen again?
Fear and lack of rationale spread while thousands of Ukrainian citizens were killed in a seemingly unjust war while an American woman was detained — and now not allowed an appeal for her case — struck the nation as a plotted personal attack that fueled an online firestorm.
We also need to think about the domestic response to the situation. Vicious comments have been circulating social media pertaining to Griner’s race, sexual orientation and gender. These commenters correctly point out that Griner broke Russian law, but does the punishment truly fit the crime? It’s hard to justify a nine-year sentence for less than a gram of cannabis oil.
In Ohio, less than 100 grams of cannabis does not result in imprisonment. It’s a misdemeanor charge with about a $150 fine. Griner, who was sentenced to nine years, would have needed to carry around 40,000 grams of cannabis — and this would have only been an eight-year sentence in Ohio, according to the website, NORML.
One might wonder if it was Lebron James, or another NBA star instead of Griner who was detained, how much the government would be willing to do to bring him back. Is the US spending as much effort to aid Griner as it would be in helping James?
Russia’s modus operandi during this conflict has been an attempt to return to pre-NATO world relations, where conquest and taking political prisoners was a norm. Nobody wants World War 3, but America could be doing more to keep its citizens out of Russian prison camps.
The phrase “Justice for Brittney Griner” has become an online presence no one can ignore, except, — of course, — U.S. government officials.