The Brittney Griner Story Exposes America’s Race Problem to the World
The basketball star’s plight symbolizes the long history of U.S. imperialism and racism hand in hand.
Brittney Griner now occupies an unprecedented place in history. She’s one of the most accomplished athletes ever. And her imprisonment makes her a totem of America’s struggles with race, class, gender, and sexuality. Sadly, there’s no neat answer when it comes to the dilemma her country faces to free her from the enemy’s clutches.
Russia knows exactly how this will go.
They hold nearly all the leverage in this Cold War detention of an American celebrity. For one, they understand how inherently hypocritical the U.S. looks on the world stage, often preaching equality and civility while murdering its Black citizens with the full backing of the government. America is the type of nation to prop up a Black President, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Vice President, and simultaneously incarcerate Black people at 5 times the rate of their white counterparts.
Griner is at the crux of this paradox. She’s successful but invisible. She’s an exceptional representation of queer Black women in sports but has been arrested for domestic violence with her WNBA ex-wife, Glory Johnson. She is a…
