Two of the USA Basketball players have broken their silence on the star player's imprisonment in Russia.
Most of the players in the league are hesitant to talk about the case because of the risk of hurting her case.
She is 6-foot-9 and people are saying she is different. Angel McCoughtry said at the USA Basketball training camp that it was not about that.
The players are discussing how to best help the player. The Black Lives Matters movement and voter registration have been very important issues for the players in the past.
It was decided that it was better for them to say less.
The Phoenix Mercury star was held at a Moscow airport. Russian authorities said a search of her luggage showed that she was carrying oil derived from cannabis, which could result in a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The Russian League took a break for the World Cup qualification tournament.
The big thing is that we have to go there. Breanna Stewart, who earns over $1 million to play in Russia, said it could have been anyone.
Stewart wanted to help The Phoenix Rescue Mission, a charity that the Mercury All-Star has long been involved with.
Stewart said he wanted to support her and her charitable efforts while she was away.
Russia has been a popular destination for WNBA players such as Stewart, since they can make a lot of money playing there in the winter.
The last collective bargaining agreement of the WNBA was signed in 2020 and the league has made strides to increase player salaries and find other ways to compensate players. The contract pays players an average of $130,000, with the top stars able to earn more than $500,000 through salary, marketing agreements, and an in-season tournament.
While players are on maternity leave, theCBA provides full salaries, enhanced family benefits, travel standards, and other health and wellness improvements.
Since her arrest, the legal team for the two-time Olympic gold-medalist has been quietly seeking her release and has declined to speak out about the case.
The Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs places a small subset of US citizens who have been wrongly imprisoned in foreign prisons under his watch. The U.S. government has yet to put the case in that category.
There are other Americans in Russia. Reed was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2020 for assault on police officers in Moscow. The family and the U.S. government have said that espionage charges against Michigan corporate security executive Paul Whelan are false. U.S. officials have called on Moscow to release them.
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