Brittney Griner chooses dramatic words in her letter. She wrote it by hand, and the recipient isn’t just anyone, it’s the President of the United States. “I’m sitting here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, my family, my friends,” writes the American basketball player. She ends with a request to Joe Biden: “I am grateful for everything you can do at this time to bring me home. I am very afraid that I will have to stay here forever.”
Griner, 31, is not just anyone, she is one of the greatest basketball players in history. She is one of only eleven women who won an Olympic gold medal (in Rio and Tokyo), the world title (2014 and 2018), the championship in the US professional league WNBA (2014 with Phoenix Mercury) and the American university Championship (2012 with Baylor University). She is also a three-time Russian Champion (2015-17); during the winter break of the WNBA she has been playing for the Russian club UMMC Yekaterinburg for eight years.
On February 17, Griner was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport after officers found cartridges of hash oil in her luggage. She has been on trial for drug smuggling since last Friday and faces ten years in prison if she is convicted. On Monday she sent this letter to the US President; So on July 4th Independence Day in the USA, Griner writes in it: “It hurts me to even think about how I would normally celebrate this day. Freedom means something completely different to me at the moment.”
Bring her back! Cherelle Griner, wife of the inmates, at a rally in Phoenix, where Brittney Griner usually plays.
(Photo: Christian Petersen/AFP)
Biden read this letter from Griner. He spoke to Griner’s wife, Cherelle, on the phone Wednesday, and he replied to that letter. “The President has assured Cherelle that he is working to secure her release as soon as possible,” the statement said. Biden read Cherelle a draft of his response, saying he would “explore every possibility of bringing her home.”
The US government only officially spoke of an “unlawful detention” two months after the arrest
These words have been chosen with care, because: what are the possibilities? Russia refers to the legislation in its own country; Griner was caught with illegal drugs, now she’s being tried. The US government only officially spoke of an “unlawful detention” on May 4, almost two months after the arrest – an assessment that the White House confirmed on Wednesday and spoke of “unacceptable circumstances” without saying specifically what it considers unjustified and unacceptable and what it intends to do about it.
And that leads directly to another athlete.
This is how the perspective changes: In February, Ivan Fedotow was still deeply disappointed with Olympic silver – but he was free.
(Foto: Matt Slocum/AP)
Russian ice hockey goalkeeper Ivan Fedotov was arrested last Friday after training in an arena in St. Petersburg. Video from a security camera shows Fedotov being led to a pickup truck by people in ski masks and taken away. It is said that he refused military service, which is why he will be transferred to a military base on the island of Novaya Zemlya in the Arctic Ocean as a punishment. “There is a military obligation in our law, so emotional comments are inappropriate,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Fedotov, 25, isn’t just anyone either. Until the end of June he was under contract with CSKA Moscow, where he won the championship and silver with the Russian selection at the Olympic Games in Beijing. He’s considered one of the greatest goaltending talents in the world, and he was set to join the Philadelphia Flyers this summer. Russian goalkeepers are in demand in the NHL, and Igor Shestjorkin (New York Rangers) was just voted the best goalie of the past season. Fedotov had played for CSKA Moscow for one season; Players of the club are automatically members of the Russian armed forces, the abbreviation CSKA stands for “Central Sports Club of the Army”. Numerous young professional athletes complete their one-year military service in the club’s sports company.
Behind self-chosen bars: Ivan Fedotov in a Russian league game in Moscow.
(Photo: Anton Novoderezhkin / Itar / Tass / Imago)
It is now said that Fedotov tried to refuse this service with his planned move to the USA. “There are certain reasons for deferring military service; there are different ways for athletes to do the service,” says Kremlin spokesman Peskov. Fedotov’s manager JP Barry said his client was taken to a military base in northern Russia and he has not had contact with him since. Flyers manager Chuck Fletcher sent out a statement saying they were aware and would do their own research. As with Griner, these are cautious formulations.
There is a suspicion that both were arrested for political reasons
At first glance, both cases have little to do with each other, but on closer inspection they have a lot to do with each other. There is a suspicion that both were arrested for political reasons. At Griner, Russia could seek prisoner swaps, as it did in April with former US soldier Trevor Reed (convicted of a fight with Russian police officers) and Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko (in US custody for drug smuggling).
The fact that Griner pleaded guilty in court on Thursday (“I had no intention of violating Russian law”) was seen by observers as part of a strategy to prepare precisely that prisoner exchange. Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, has already indicated this: “There has been a way of talking about such things for a long time.” In turn, Russia apparently wants to make an example of Fedotov, saying that even as a celebrity you can’t just move to the United States at the moment.
Relations between the two countries are of course influenced by Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine; This is also why the wording has been chosen so carefully. It can be heard from those close to the NHL that they have advised the Russian players not to travel home during this summer break; even before the finals series (Colorado won against Tampa Bay), Assistant NHL boss Bill Daly said: “This summer, the Stanley Cup will not come to Russia or Belarus.” Usually, players from the winning club are allowed to do whatever they want with the trophy for a few days.
“I will not be calm anymore,” said Cherelle Griner on Tuesday: “My wife is not well, we have to help her.” That’s a very American, Western attitude; Experts, on the other hand, urge caution and diplomacy. Ryabkov had already noted: “It’s understandable that Americans want to create hype and make noise – but that’s not really a solution to problems.” The Russian attitude is therefore embodied by Alexander Ovechkin, currently the best-known Russian NHL professional. According to the portal sports.ru he was asked on Sunday whether he wanted to say anything about the Fedotov case. Ovechkin’s answer: “No, why?”
