It has been more than seven months since the arrest of Brittney Griner in Russia. Despite the efforts of the U.S government, things have not changed much. After Griner pleaded guilty, a Russian judge gave her a nine-year sentence. However, the U.S. still considers her “wrongfully detained.” Many celebrities were outraged by the sentencing as they felt it was too harsh. Some felt that she is being used as a “political pawn” by the two countries. There were multiple social media campaigns to support Griner.

However, the author of ‘Bad Feminist’, Roxane Gay did not think it was enough. In the?Times, Gay wrote, ??We are B.G.? should be a viral rallying cry, but it isn?t?and why? Is it misogyny? Racism? Homophobia? The unholy trifecta? If it was LeBron, he?d be home, right??

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A large section of fans have raised similar concerns. On the other hand, many fans have ascribed the supposed disparity in treatment to the WNBA not being as popular as the NBA. However, U.S. officials have assured fans that they’re working tirelessly to broker a deal that would meet Moscow’s demands.

Celebrities show support for Brittney Griner

While Roxane Gay compared Griner with LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar himself voiced his support for Griner. He was very critical of the efforts of the U.S. government. He asked, ?How can she feel like America has her back?? And even received huge backlash for his comments. NBA superstar Stephen Curry also shared his frustration about the Phoenix Mercury center’s situation in Russia. He showed his support for her during the ESPYs as well.

Roxane Gay also wondered why there are no viral social media campaigns for Griner. A group tried to determine which states in the country garner more support for Griner on social media using hashtags. From their research, it was found people from Arizona showed the most support for their Phoenix Mercury star. South Carolina and Oregon came second and third, respectively.

Shockingly, Griner’s home state of Texas was not even in the top 10 list of states to show support for her.

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While many celebrities have shown their support for the WNBA champion, many people have clearly not. And Griner’s protest for the national anthem not so long ago plays a huge role. NBA veteran Enes Kanter Freedom mentioned that during an appearance on TV as well. While he admitted that he wants her back home, he did take a sly dig at her about the national anthem. He was also unsure about giving away an arms dealer in a potential prisoner swap deal to release the 31-year-old hooper.