WNBA star Brittney Griner will reportedly be held in Russia for at least two more weeks.
On Tuesday, Russian state media agency TASS reported that a court has ruled to keep the 31-year-old American basketball player in custody through at least July 2, according to CNN and ABC News.
The latter outlet said that officials would be holding her longer at “the request of the investigation,” a rep for for the said Khimki Court of the Moscow Region, according to TASS.
This is the third time Griner’s detention in the country has been extended since she was arrested at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow in February. There, officials allegedly found vape cartridges containing hash oil, an illegal substance in Russia, in her luggage.
Lindsay Kagawa Colas wrote on Twitter the decision was just further proof the Phoenix Mercury center was “being used as a political pawn.” She called on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to act with urgency in bringing the basketball player home from Moscow.
In May, the U.S. State Department officially classified Griner as wrongfully detained by the Russian Federation. According to the Associated Press, Griner’s case is now being handled by the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, which focuses on hostage release and freeing Americans around the world it determines have been wrongfully detained.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price told CNN Tuesday that the department learned about this latest extension via Russian state media and that the American consulate in Russia last had access to Griner in May.
After the Phoenix Mercury center was arrested in February, a consular officer visited her in March; Price said in a May press briefing that the officer verified that “[Griner] was doing as well as can be expected under these very difficult circumstances.”
A number of WNBA and NBA players have expressed support for Griner in the 117 days since her arrest. In April, WNBA Players Association president Nneka Ogwumike spoke about the situation on Good Morning America; Ogwumike noted that she and other WNBA players have spent offseasons playing in Russia to supplement the income they make from the WNBA.
“Quite frankly, we go over there to maintain our game,” Ogwumike explained at the time. “Our teams encourage us to keep up with our game by going over there and being more competitive, so there is so much that’s at play that we live politically, intrinsically.”
