NBA superstar LeBron James said on Tuesday that US authorities were not doing enough to repatriate Brittney Griner, who has been detained in Russia since February for drug possession.
In a trailer for his YouTube show “The Shop: Uninterrupted,” the basketball player recalled that his compatriot was taken into Russian custody in February, days before Moscow invaded Ukraine.
“How can she (in these circumstances) feel supported by the United States?” Asked James, four-time NBA champion and four-time best player in the league. “In his case, I would be like, ‘Do I even want to go back to America?'”
Brittney Griner has pleaded guilty to drug smuggling after being arrested in possession of cannabis-based vaping liquid.
US officials consider the arrest to be arbitrary.
“If it was LeBron, he’d be home already, right?” Vanessa Nygaard of the Phoenix Mercury and Griner coach said last week.
“It’s a statement on the value we place on women. It is a statement on the value we place on a black person. It’s a statement on the value we place on a gay person. All these things. We know it and that’s what hurts a little more,” she said.
LeBron James had expressed his support for the basketball player in June, accompanying a message on Twitter with the hashtag “WeAreBG”: “We must come together and do everything in our power to bring BG home, quickly and safely. security! Our voice as athletes is stronger together.”
LeBron James’ show is due to start on Friday, where he is expected to speak more about the matter.