Brittney Griner’s legal team said she is being transferred to a Russian penal colony, but they don’t know her location.
Following the frightening update, the WNBA Players Association released a statement Wednesday evening expressing concern for the Phoenix Mercury star.
“We stand with Brittney Griner and will continue to call on all Americans and the global sports community to do the same with even more vigilance,” the statement said. “We are crushed that this scary, seemingly never-ending nightmare continues. The lack of clarity and transparency in the process compounds the pain.”
Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison on charges of carrying cannabis oil into the country. She’s been under Russian detention since getting arrested at a Moscow-area airport in February.
The U.S. government reclassified Griner as wrongfully detained in May.
President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he’s “determined to get her home” and hopes Russian President Vladimir Putin will be more willing to seriously discuss a prisoner exchange now that the U.S. midterm elections are over.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the U.S. government “is unwavering in its commitment” to Griner and other detained Americans. She claimed the U.S. presented a “significant offer” to Russia.
“Every minute that Brittney Griner must endure wrongful detention in Russia is a minute too long,” she wrote on Twitter. “As the Administration continues to work tirelessly to secure her release, the President has directed the Administration to prevail on her Russian captors to improve her treatment and the conditions she may be forced to endure in a penal colony.”
Per ESPN’s T.J. Quinn, Griner’s legal team said the transfer began Friday. However, her attorney and U.S. officials did not know of the move until Tuesday.