Basketball

That said - it’s wartime. And any foreign National who since early February who chose to stay there after the US Govt was releasing information on intelligence that Russia was going to attack Ukraine had to have basic common sense that it was time to leave - especially if you were an athlete or high profile American citizen. And leave with NOTHING on them.

Griner unfortunately had chosen to make money playing in Russia for the last decade. She knows the laws in Russia - she has to know Putin and the risks. I therefore believe she was likely set up. But the reality is that if she is now a prisoner and will be sentenced in a scam trial (like so many that Putin’s Russia has had for decades) and she and her family will have to accept that she is one person and a pawn and as important as her life is to them - she is no more important than every single human being in Ukraine being killed right now and if NATO and US won’t risk nuclear confrontation and let thousands die, she is not going to be allowed to be a propaganda pawn.

It’s harsh. It’s horrible. I say that with the same sadness and horror I feel inside about what is happening. But it’s war. And anytime anyone chooses to go travel, visit, work, live in a foreign country, in particular one that is not a democracy, one cannot rely on themselves being safe - even if they are rich or a celebrity.

How many Rubles was it worth this job for Griner? Sadly no amount. And she is now paying the price.