The NBA world was pleasantly surprised on Sunday night when Shaquille OâNeal and Stephen Curry won an Oscar of their own. The two legends were executive producers of the short documentary âThe Queen Of Basketballâ. Directed by Ben Proudfoot, the story follows one of the pioneers of womenâs basketball Luisa Harris.
During his acceptance speech, Proudfoot called out the US President Joe Biden regarding another womenâs basketball player: Brittney Griner. The WNBA star has been incarcerated in Russia for quite a while due to illegal possession of drugs. Proudfoot echoed many NBA fansâ sentiments with his statement to Biden. (via Deadline)
âOne last thing,â Proudfoot, said, âPresident Biden, bring Brittney Griner home.â
NBA and WNBA fans were shocked when the news of Grinerâs arrest broke out last February. It became even more surprising when it was revealed that Griner couldâve been detained way before her arrest was reported in the US. Amid the tensions between Russia and the US, her situation has become increasingly dangerous.
At the very least, Griner seems to be okay, and Russia has allowed the US to check in on the WNBA star. However, itâs possible that if nothing is done to help her out, Griner could stay in prison for far longer than anticipated. Itâs for that reason that many people want Biden to help Griner get out of Russia.
Griner was in Russia since she was scheduled to play there. Due to the WNBAâs meager salary, womenâs basketball players often play in other leagues in the offseason to make more money. That pay gap is a big talking point even amongst NBA stars, with Draymond Green going on a Twitter rant about the massive pay gap between his league and the womenâs league.