Brittney Griner: How can a US basketball star just vanish?

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She is arguably the greatest female basketball player of all time, and she has been held in Moscow because of the war in Ukraine. Fans want to know why people are not paying attention.

In one of the last public appearances of the American professional basketball player, she is seen walking through airport security with a suitcase.

The star centre for the Phoenix Mercury had arrived at the Sheremetyevo airport outside Moscow to play in the Russian league.

In the security footage, she wears running shoes, black sweatpants and a black hoodie with a black Lives for Peace written on the back.

She is taller than the customs agents and other travellers.

She is seen sitting in front of a man, seemingly a customs agent, shaking her head. Last week, a Russian mugshot appeared on state television.

Russian authorities are believed to have arrested Ms Griner on drug charges.

A month after she was taken into custody, little is known about her situation.

Fans and sports analysts alike have supported the player, who is considered by many to be the greatest female basketball player of all time, because of the uncertainty surrounding her fate.

Some fans say that the response to Ms Griner's detainment has been strangely subdued.

Fans and experts say that the attention she has been given in comparison to male players exposes longstanding gender inequalities in professional sports.

This would be on the cover of not only every sports page but every news media page in the world.

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Ms Griner, a nine-year veteran of the league, is the best of the best, according to a sportswriter and professor at the US state of Illinois.

She is one of the best athletes in the world.

She led the team to a national championship while at Baylor University.

She is considered to be the best offensive player in the league.

Ms Griner has accomplished a lot, winning a college championship, a college basketball title, and an Olympic gold medal. Her ability to dunk is unparalleled.

She came out as gay at the age of 22 when she entered professional sport.

She was the first openly gay athlete to be endorsed by Nike after she became the first overall draft pick in the WNBA.

Ms Spruill said there was a shadow over the league, where it was not okay to say gay.

Diana Taurasi has said thatBG has always been one to be a pioneer.

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Ms Griner had a second job, and that's why she flew to Russia to play for the EuroLeague team UMMC Ekaterinburg, where she had worked since the US off-season.

The off-season is when most of the WNBA players compete. For most, it is a way to increase their domestic income by moving to Russia.

Ms Spruill said that if she were a player like Curry or James, she wouldn't be there.

The men's league makes more than 200 times the maximum WNBA salary.

The EuroLeague suspended all Russian teams and the US and WNBA began calling players out of the country after Russia invaded Ukraine.

It was too late for the basketball player, who is believed to have entered Russia one week earlier, on 17 February.

The Russian Federal Customs Service said in a press release that a Sniffer dog led authorities to search the carry-on luggage of an American basketball player and that it had found a small amount of marijuana. Tass, a Russian news agency, identified the player as Ms Griner.

The third week of March was when Russian authorities confirmed that she had been stopped at the airport in February. Under what circumstances she is being held, and where she is being held, is not publicly known.

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The US authorities and representatives have been mostly silent except to say they are working to bring her home.

A state department spokesman told the BBC they were aware of and closely engaged in the case.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week that American officials are doing everything they can to help her.

There is only so much I can say given the privacy considerations.

Lindsay Colas said she was in close contact with the player and her lawyer in Russia, but could not comment further.

Some US officials have indicated that strained US-Russian relations may affect Ms. Griner's safe return.

John Garamendi, a member of the House of Representatives' armed services committee, said that they don't want Ms Griner to become a pawn in the political battle that is being waged throughout the world right now.

The war in Ukraine has severed diplomatic ties between the US and Russia.

He said that Russia has blocked access to the US embassy.

She could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of drug charges.

The US embassy in Russia did not respond to a request for comment.

Image source, Getty Images

Some fans have been left incredulous by the lack of attention for a world-class athlete in prison among sports media, as the end of a month of detaining is near.

It has been speculated that the silence may be intentional to avoid inflaming the situation.

Ms Spruill says that the somewhat muffled coverage on Ms Griner lays bare the clear inequalities faced by female athletes.

There is more ink devoted to male players than there is to female players.

More than 60,000 fans have signed an online petition organised by Ms Spruill, demanding that the US government treat her like any other sports icon.

Ms Spruill said that there had not been enough coverage.

Cherelle posted about the wait on her IG last week.

There is no task in this world that could keep us from worrying about you. She wrote that her heart, our hearts, are all skipping beats.

There are no words to describe the pain. We are hurting, I am hurting.