House Democrats call for Brittney Griner’s immediate release

Democratic House Reps. Greg Stanton (Ariz.), Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas) and Colin Allred (Texas) introduced a resolution calling for the release of Brittney Griner, a seven-time WNBA All-Star selection and Olympic gold medalist who has been detained in Russia for months. 

The resolution calls for the “immediate release” of Griner, who has been detained since February when cannabis vape cartridges were allegedly found in her luggage at the Moscow Airport.

“I’ve been lucky enough to watch Brittney develop and grow as a professional athlete, but also as a leader in our Phoenix community. We won’t stop working until she’s safely back with her family,” Stanton said in a statement.

Jackson Lee added that the resolution reinforces the important position that “Brittney Griner is ‘wrongfully detained’ in Russia.”

“She is a victim of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s desperation to rule the world, and unfortunately, her freedom is made more difficult by inconsistent Russian responses to our embassy personnel and a bad legal system in Russia,” Jackson Lee said.

Her comments echo the State Department’s message when it declared earlier this month that the WNBA player had been detained wrongfully in Russia.

The continued push for her release comes after earlier this week the U.S. said Russia prohibited U.S. Embassy staff from visiting Griner multiple times in May.

Her detention, which was reportedly extended for another 30 days last week, has been largely seen as a political move amid Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.