Russian authorities have reportedly extended Briner Griner’s detention period for at least another few weeks.
Griner’s agent, Lindsay Kagawa-Colas, shared a call to action on Twitter Tuesday night.
She called on the Biden administration to “do whatever it takes” to get the WNBA superstar home.
“Today’s extension is just further reinforcement that Brittney Griner – an Olympian and an American citizen – is being used as a political pawn,” Kagawa-Colas wrote. “Her detention is inhumane and unacceptable. She has not had a single phone call in her 117 days of wrongful detention, and we call on @POTUS and @VP to act with urgency and do whatever it takes to bring Brittney home immediately.
“We must fight for BG like family because as an American, she is all of ours. #WeAreBG.”
Griner was arrested on February 17 after Russian authorities allegedly found cannabis-oil vape cartridges in her luggage at a Moscow airport. She’s been held there ever since and has had limited contact with her family and U.S. officials.
Griner’s agent isn’t the only person who suspects she’s being used as a “political pawn.” There’s speculation that the Russian government wants to trade Griner for Russian businessman Viktor Bout, who’s current serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States for selling arms to terrorists.
Griner’s Phoenix Mercury teammates met with the State Department on Monday.