Womens Basketball Legend Lisa Leslie Says WNBA Told Players Not To ‘Fuss’ Over Brittney Griners Arrest
WNBA star Lisa Leslie got candid about the league’s response to Brittney Griner‘s arrest in Russia. Griner was arrested back in February at the Moscow airport when security guards discovered hashish oil cartridges in her suitcase.
Former WNBA player Chantel Tremitiere began the conversation with Leslie saying, “For me- I sometimes feel like, if we’re getting real. If she was one of the ‘white girls’ from the WNBA, her name would be on the news every single day.
Leslie chimed in to say, “What we were told, and again this is all sort of passed along through hearsay, but what we were told was to not make a big fuss about it so that they could not use her as a pawn, so to speak, in this situation, in the war. To make it like it’s not that important or don’t make it where we’re like, ‘Free Brittney,’ and we start this campaign and then it becomes something that they can use.”
Leslie continued, “That’s what we were ‘told’ and I don’t say who said that but it’s kind of like, what’s been spreading around the women’s basketball world. Do we know if that’s the right thing to do?”
“I think it’s bullshit,” Tremitiere replied. “I think we gotta talk about it. Period. Whether or not I hate what’s going on in–”
Leslie interjected, “but to answer your question though, I think it’s heartbreaking for all of us. That’s the feelings of it, you want to do more and you think ‘should we use our social media platform and get behind it or not.’ This is the first time we’re in a situation where you don’t know what to do.”
“Her lifestyle’s even illegal. Her lifestyle’s even illegal. It’s literally illegal,” Tremitiere noted.
“It’s thought about and talked about a lot,” Leslie concluded.
During the time of her arrest, Griner was playing for the women’s basketball Premier League in Russia. She remains in custody in Russia and is awaiting trial on charges of drug smuggling. If found guilty, Griner could face up to 10 years in jail.
Listen above via I Am Athlete.
