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/
Mychelle spoke about Miles and i listened
If you follow any sports pages, your highlights and trick shot videos were interrupted this week by Mychelle Johnson’s post exposing the abuse she has endured at the hands of her NBA husband, Miles Bridges.
I want to speak to this.
First and foremost, I believe women when they speak. I don’t believe women have ulterior motives when coming forward about abuse. I take what they say as the truth until proven otherwise. So I saw Mychelle’s post and believed her. My heart sank at the photos of the damage he left on her body. The same body that gave him two children. In Mychelle’s photos, not only were the most recent scars and bruises documented but also those underneath that had healed and ceased actively bleeding. Women all over the country saw those photos and looked at our own scars, physical or not.
I want to acknowledge the courage that it takes to tilt the light on the darker side of the world’s shining stars. As a society, we seem to believe that our stars have no faults. But they do. Mychelle reminded us.
I already knew whose side the comment section would take. Despite the irrefutable evidence of physical harm done to her body, the Instagram and Twitter judges found Bridges not guilty on the basis of, “hoes be lying.”
So not only has Mychelle endured harm by whom she shares a home but she has also been harmed by a society that won’t bear her truth.
I don’t care how angry Miles Bridges was, or what Mychelle might have said. He hurt a body that he should be protecting and cherishing. The home that they cultivated together was demolished each time he layed his hands on her.
And let’s not forget, the children who witnessed all of this.
Bridges might not have hit his children, but he damaged the fragile idea they had of love, family, and what a father is.
My heart goes out to these kids as well.
I want to say that Bridge’s stat line does not justify the harm he did off the court. His violence in his home is not excused by his accomplishments.
Believe Mychelle. Believe those who couldn't post about it. Believe those who haven't made the courageous steps to verbalize their pain yet.
This isn’t just a sports problem, it isn't just a black, white, or wealthy problem. It is everyone’s problem. It is everyone’s responsibility to cherish, not abuse, our partners and to believe others when they muster up the strength to speak about the abuse they've survived.
the day they overturned roe v. wade
Even our iPhones knew it was major. They pushed the notification through. Where were you?
For women and those who cherish women, June 24th, 2022 was a sorrowful day. I know I wasn't the only one who felt an overwhelming sense of doom above and within me. Something about deciding what women can or can't do with their bodies and where they can or cannot have autonomy over their bodies left me feeling tainted and taken advantage of.
No one understands a woman’s body like the woman who inhabits it.
Our reproductive system alone is more intricate than the Constitution which now has a say in what comes out of it. As women, our innermost workings have now been infiltrated by the supreme court and the lawmakers in our states. The power in our bodies comes from the choice of what to do with it.
However,
it is not lost on me that Roe v. Wade was passed with the work of fierce and determined women back in 1973.
It is not lost on me that the protests which were immediately started across the country today were organized by bad-ass determined women.
While I am overwhelmed and anxious today, I still have hope for tomorrow. Women who fought in the ’20s birthed women who marched in the ’70s. The women in the ‘70s brought up women who will march today, this week, and for years to come.
I know this overturning will not be taken lightly. Those marching and holding up their signs will continue to do so until the autonomy over our bodies is returned to us. And if you aren't marching for yourself, march for your barista at Starbucks, your teammate, or your future daughter.
Tell a woman you love her today.
credit: slw606, CC