WNBA player says she won’t play abroad after Brittney Griner’s detention in Russia

WNBA player Napheesa Collier said on Monday that she doesn’t plan to play overseas for the foreseeable future in the aftermath of WNBA star Brittney Griner’s recent detention in Russia. 

During an appearance on “CNN This Morning,” Collier, who plays for the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx, said that “it’s really scary” for players to compete overseas due to the different laws and measures they have to follow outside the U.S. 

Collier, Griner and other WNBA players have competed in different professional basketball leagues overseas during the offseason to secure more lucrative contracts.

According to Yahoo Sports, Collier, a former standout at the University of Connecticut, spent her 2021 offseason playing for Lattes Montpellier in France’s professional women’s basketball league. 

“It’s really scary. You really have to evaluate, anyone who wants to go overseas, what it’s going to look like,” Collier, who was alongside Washington Mystics player Elizabeth Williams, told “CNN This Morning.” “We’re in a big market also, like a lot of money to be had there. But you have to look at — their rules are a lot different than ours, their laws.” 

“For me, it’s just not worth it. It’s not the same for every player,” Collier added, noting that playing in the states full time is a better option for her since she has a family.

Collier’s remarks come after President Biden announced last week that the U.S. had secured the release of Griner from Russia after she was detained in the country for nearly 10 months. 

Griner, who plays professionally for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, was serving a sentence at a Russian penal colony after being found guilty of possessing cannabis oil at a Moscow airport in February. 

Many Republicans criticized the Biden administration’s deal with Russia to free the 32-year-old basketball star, citing their concerns about exchanging notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout to bring Griner home.