Officials update status, plan to rescue Brittney Griner from Russian custody

WNBA star and Baylor legend Brittney Griner remains in Russian custody, and a new report Thursday provided an update on her and the plan to get her back home.

ESPN’s TJ Quinn reported consular officials still don’t have access to Griner, the two-time Olympic gold medal-winning basketball player. She’s been detained after Russian authorities found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.

“We insist the Russian government provide consular access to all U.S. citizen detainees in Russia, including those in pre-trial detention, as Brittney Griner is,” the official said, via Quinn.

Quinn then provided another update, citing a source who said they “know [Griner is] OK” because her family and representatives get updates from Russian attorneys, who “visit her frequently.”

“I wouldn’t say she’s ‘good,’ but she’s OK,” the source told Quinn.

Griner was in Russia because that’s where she plays professional basketball. She also stars for the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA after they drafted her No. 1 overall out of Baylor in 2013.

Russia says it has Olympic gold medal-winning USA basketball player Britney Grinder in custody

The Russian Federal Customs Service says that officials detained former Baylor center and WNBA star Brittney Griner at the Sheremetyevo airport near Moscow, according to the New York Times. The Russian authorities said that they found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.

The initial statement from the Russian Federal Customs Service did not name Griner directly, citing a two-time Olympic gold medal winner from the United State instead. However, later video appears to show Griner at the airport wearing a mask and sweatshirt.

According to the statement, there is an ongoing criminal case into the large-scale transportation of drugs, which could carry a sentence of up to 10 years behind bars in Russia. She has been taken into custody while the investigation is ongoing, according to the New York Times.

Griner plays for the Russian women’s basketball team UMMC Ekaterinburg during the WNBA offseason, like many other American players who seek higher salaries in the more lucrative European market. However, this season many of those players have left Russia amid the ongoing conflict between the country and Ukraine.

“The few WNBA players who were competing this off-season in Ukraine are no longer in the country,” the WNBA told ESPN in a statement this week. “The league has also been in contact with WNBA players who are in Russia, either directly or through their agents. We will continue to closely monitor the situation.”