on britney griner

You’ve probably heard bits and pieces of information surrounding WNBA star Britney Griner’s detainment in Russia. In my opinion, it's been publicized more than any game, player, or moment in WNBA history. While I understand her detainment is mixed in with critical political relations, I can’t help but imagine that many people didn't know who she was before this happened. There are social implications to her detainment and that is the angle I want to speak on in this blog post. I will not be commenting on whether or not she was in the wrong, or what President Biden should do. 

I want to speak on Brtiney becoming a political pawn, why she was in Russia to begin with, and the intersection between being a lesbian black woman. 

On BG as a political pawn: 

It is believed that Russia intends to use BG in a trade to bring Viktor Bout, an arms dealer known as “The Merchant of Death,” back to Russia. Now, to put this into perspective, Bout is a former Soviet military translator, and previously used air transport companies to smuggle weapons into various locations. It seems as if both countries recognize BG has great worth in this position. They are treading lightly around the situation…However, I think it is unfair to view her as a political pawn. BG goes through her daily life as an underpaid lesbian black woman in the U.S where we don’t embrace those identities. The U.S realizes the weight of the situation and BG’s importance right now, but not any other time. Therefore, her importance right now is only recognized by the U.S because they want to keep the peace with Russia. If/when she comes home, she will fall back to the bottom of the “america’s-who-we-care-about list.” I empathize with BG because she just wants to go home. She never signed up for this. She wasn’t in Russia to become a political pawn.

On why she was in Russia to begin with:

She was in Russia to make a living. Russia pays their female basketball players more. If we paid WNBA players enough to survive, she wouldn't have been there. Enough said.

On the intersectionality of BG:

It is not lost on me that America is in a position to ‘save’ or ‘rescue’ the lesbian black woman. Correct me if I am wrong, but has America ever saved a lesbian black woman? I am watching the decisions made with BG and continuously comparing them to how we handle the U.S straight white males who are detained in foreign countries. Any mishandlings prove there is a lack of care for individuals outside of the majority. 

As I often do, I am lifting up those who worked to keep BG’s name relevant–who kept the story on everyone’s feed.

I choose to end my blog posts by reminding us of our power, and how we can make the change by joining together.

To read more visit https://wearebg.org/