WNBA star Brittney Griner to remain under arrest in Russia until May

Russian state news agency Tass reported a court near Moscow has extended the arrest of WNBA star Brittney Griner in Russia to May 19. Griner was arrested while going through security at a Moscow airport last month.

“The employees found vape cartridges while scanning one of the bags,” the Russian captioning of CCTV footage showing the arrest read. “The expertise showed that they contained a liquid with drug substance – cannabis oil.”

Possession of cannabis oil in Russia could carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. News of Griner’s arrest in Russia broke earlier this month, as Griner is one of the most recognizable figures in American women’s basketball. She was a national champion in college at Baylor, and she has won a WNBA championship with the Phoenix Mercury and two Olympic gold medals with the U.S. Even the State Department has stepped in to the situation.

“This is a case that we have been working on since the time of her detention,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said at his daily briefing Tuesday. “We are doing everything we can to support Brittney Griner, to support her family, and to work with them, do everything we can, to see that she is treated appropriately and to seek her release.”

With Thursday’s announcement, Griner will spend at least the first two weeks of the WNBA season, which begins May 6, in Russia. Griner was in Russia in the first place because she, like many other WNBA players, plays overseas in the offseason to supplement her WNBA salary. In the seven years she has been playing in Russia, Griner has made quadruple what she makes in the WNBA each year.

Griner last played for her Russian team UMMC Ekaterinburg in late January. In early February, the league MMC Ekaterinburg took a two-week break for the FIBA World Cup qualifying tournaments. Griner was arrested upon her return following the break.