Investigating the timing and implications of Brittney Griner's arrest in Russia

Investigating the timing¹ and implications of Brittney Griner's arrest in Russia

Transcript²

Months after her arrest, WNBA all-star Brittney Griner is still held in a Russian prison. NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Yahoo Sports writer Jeff Eisenberg about suspicions surrounding her case.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner is still in a Russian prison. When she's not playing for the Phoenix³ Mercury, the 6-foot-9 center plays for a team in Russia. Griner was arrested back on February 17 of this year for carrying hash vape cartridges⁴ in her luggage at the Moscow airport. It happened just days before war broke out between Ukraine and Russia. Jeff Eisenberg with Yahoo Sports has been looking into the timing of her arrest and the implications, and he joins us now. Hey, Jeff.

JEFF EISENBERG: Hey. How are you?

MARTIN: Doing well. Thanks for doing this. Can you start off by telling us about Brittney Griner's career in Russian basketball?

EISENBERG: Yeah. So in the offseason, a lot of WNBA players will go overseas to earn more money. And one of the most lucrative⁵ teams is UMMC Ekaterinburg. It's owned by two Russian oligarchs. And they're certainly a team that American players would want to play for because of the salaries and because of the way that they're treated there.

MARTIN: So as a result, Brittney Griner's kind of a big deal in sports circles in Russia. Nevertheless, she's arrested. Russia accuses her of breaking the law by having these vape materials with her. Her next court date is May 19. Can you explain the two possible ways the court could rule?

EISENBERG: Well, so it's a pretrial date on May 19, and the decision that the court will make is, is there more time needed for criminal investigation⁶ or is this case ready to proceed towards trial? And that decision is significant for a number of reasons. One, if they need more time, it's a suggestion that perhaps she might be there for more than just legal reasons because this is a pretty simple case. There's not a ton of witnesses. There's not a ton of evidence. So if it needs another extension, it's a suggestion that there is value for the Russian government for Brittney to be in custody⁷ because, potentially, she could be useful to them down the road.

MARTIN: Well, let's talk about that possible utility because it's impossible to ignore the fact that her arrest happened right as Vladimir Putin was launching this war in Ukraine, which was obviously going to invoke⁸ the ire of the United States. Is Brittney Griner a political prisoner at this point?

EISENBERG: I think it's too soon to say definitively⁹. But what we can say definitively right now is that she is at risk of being a political prisoner. There's basically two ways that her case could go. Her case could go down a legal track where she is essentially¹⁰ at the mercy of the Russian legal system, which is scary enough in its own right, or she could be dangled¹¹ by Vladimir Putin as a political prisoner in exchange for perhaps another prisoner or something else that he wants.

MARTIN: Do we know anything about the conditions under which she's being held?

EISENBERG: We don't know much at all. We know that the State Department has visited her one time and declared her to be in good physical condition. But we don't know where she is being held. We don't know the conditions in that prison.

MARTIN: The WNBA starts its new season May 6. How has her home team, the Phoenix Mercury, been dealing¹² with her absence?

EISENBERG: From what I understand, the Mercury are very concerned about her, but they also haven't spoken very much about her. And they have tried very, very hard not to shine a spotlight¹³ on this case and not to potentially increase her value as a hostage. So the lack of information is, again, troubling, like a lot of aspects in this case.

MARTIN: Jeff Eisenberg is a writer with Yahoo Sports. He joined us on Skype. Thanks so much, Jeff.

EISENBERG: You're welcome.

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1 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

4 cartridges   

子弹( cartridge的名词复数 )； （打印机的）墨盒； 录音带盒； （唱机的）唱头

参考例句：

• computer consumables such as disks and printer cartridges 如磁盘、打印机墨盒之类的电脑耗材
• My new video game player came with three game cartridges included. 我的新电子游戏机附有三盘游戏带。

5 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

6 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

7 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

8 invoke   

v.求助于(神、法律)；恳求，乞求

参考例句：

• Let us invoke the blessings of peace.让我们祈求和平之福。
• I hope I'll never have to invoke this clause and lodge a claim with you.我希望我永远不会使用这个条款向你们索赔。

9 definitively   

adv.决定性地，最后地

参考例句：

• None of the three super-states could be definitively conquered even by the other two in combination. 三个超级国家中的任何一国都不可能被任何两国的联盟所绝对打败。 来自英汉文学
• Therefore, nothing can ever be definitively proved with a photograph. 因此，没有什么可以明确了一张照片。 来自互联网

10 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

11 dangled   

悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口

参考例句：

• Gold charms dangled from her bracelet. 她的手镯上挂着许多金饰物。
• It's the biggest financial incentive ever dangled before British footballers. 这是历来对英国足球运动员的最大经济诱惑。

12 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

13 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。