WNBA star Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia for more than 200 days now. And a lot of fans and celebrities are starting to question the efforts of the US government to bring her back home. She was arrested at a Moscow airport for possession of drugs in February. The former WNBA champion pleaded guilty, however, but maintained that she had no intention to break any law. She was later sentenced to nine years in prison by a Russian court. Many celebrities showed their frustration with the sentencing as they believed that it was too harsh.

Even before the sentencing, there was a lot of outrage from fans and celebrities. Also, before the sentencing, there were talks of a potential prisoner swap between the two countries. However, nothing has materialized so far. Recently, U.S. Marine veteran, Trevor Reed, who was in a Russian prison for three years shared his experience.

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Reed was also sentenced to nine years and was released in April in exchange for a Russian citizen who was arrested on drug smuggling charges in the US. He said that the food there was almost always rotten and that the cells were extremely dirty. And that he had to regain the weight he had lost in Russia.

Despite the detainment of Brittney Griner, some WNBA players opt to play in Russia

Despite all this and the dangers on foreign soil, WNBA players regularly opt to play overseas basketball during the WNBA off-season because of the money involved. Now, as per reports, 30 WNBA players have decided to travel to Russia to play in the Russian basketball league. Reportedly, the maximum base salary for players in the WNBA in the 2022 season is $228,094. And the minimum base salary is $60,471. On the other hand, women players could earn from several hundred thousand dollars to even more than $1 million while playing?overseas.

Brittney Griner was in Russia to play for UMMC Ekaterinburg in the Russian Premier League. Ekaterinburg has been one of the desired destinations for WNBA players for decades. She had been playing for the team since 2014 and is a fan favorite. Griner helped the team win the Russian Premier League title for three straight years from 2015 to 2017. Furthermore, helped the team win the Euro League four times as well.

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Many blame the low salary in the WNBA as the reason behind players in the WNBA opting to play overseas. Author Dave Zirin wrote that it would be appropriate if players boycott Russia as a protest against Griner’s detainment, even suggesting that the NBA should subsidize players to not go to Russia.?Many believe that with better compensation, WNBA players would not have a reason to play overseas and will thus be safer on home soil.