If Brittney Griner weren’t a Black woman, her story would have looked very different
Brittney Griner is still in jail. And last week, the Phoenix Mercury star was officially sentenced to nine years in prison on drug charges. Griner’s fate is excessive and unjust, that much is clear. But more than that, it’s a stunning indictment of how America continues to fail Black women – both on and off its shores.
Griner is one of the most accomplished and impressive female basketball players in the world. After an astonishing college career and becoming a number one WNBA draft pick, the ESPY award-winning, all-American champion who has also helped secure multiple Olympic gold medals for team USA is widely thought of as one of the best to ever play the game. And yet, in the early days of her arrest, there was near radio silence about her unfair detention.
Tayo Bero is a Guardian US columnist