White House Won't Say If WNBA Player Held In Russia Is Being Used As Bargaining Chip

The U.S. is working to secure the release of a WNBA player, who in February was arrested in Russia on drug trafficking allegations.

Questions surround whether the Biden administration thinks Russia took Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner into custody as a bargaining chip. The White House has not provided a clear answer.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Thursday that she could not "speak to the specifics" of Griner's case, citing legal reasons. Psaki said the administration’s objective is “always to bring American citizens home who are detained in foreign countries.”

When pressed to answer whether Griner is being used as a "bargaining chip" amid the Russia-Ukraine war, Psaki replied that the focus of the White House was on the conflict itself.

“I certainly understand why you are asking, but our focus right now on how we are going to bring an end to the conflict is to support and boost up the Ukrainians, to support diplomatic conversations and to continue to provide a range of assistance in that light,” Psaki said.

Griner, who was part of the U.S. Olympic Team and also played for a club in Yekaterinburg, Russia, was detained by border officials at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport on Feb. 17 for possessing vaporizer cartridges that contained hashish, which is illegal in Russia.

Her arrest came a little over a week after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine. The U.S., together with its allies, would later issue massive sanctions against Russia’s economy.

A number of sports journalists criticized the silence of U.S. diplomats on Griner's case with ESPN reporter T.J. Quinn warning that the Putin government may look to make an example out of a "6-foot- 9 Black gay American woman" as a "cautionary tale of American decadence."

Griner’s case has caught the attention of several members of Congress, who have called for her release.

On Wednesday, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, who represents Griner's hometown of Houston, demanded that Putin release her immediately. A day later, two Republican members of the House penned a letter to President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to rescue Griner from being a "hostage to a heinous and deranged dictator."

Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, who like Griner attended Baylor University, pledged that his office would press the State Department to exert more efforts to bring Griner home.

"My office has been in touch with the State Department, and we're working with them to see what is the best way forward," said Allred. "I know the administration is working hard to try and get access to her and try to be helpful here.”

Griner is one of several Americans currently in Russian custody together with former Marines Trevor Reed and Paul Wheelan. On Wednesday, President Biden spoke on the phone to the Reed family to pledge his support.