"Wow, shame on the lot" - Martina Navratilova reacts to details of WNBA star Brittney Griner’s prison sentence in Russia
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova took to social media to express her views on US basketball star Brittney Griner's imprisonment in Russia.
Griner, one of the US and the world's top women's basketball players, was detained in February this year at an airport near Moscow as she was found to be carrying vape cartridges containing cannabis oil. Possession of cannabis in Russia is illegal. In August, she was sentenced to nine years in prison.
A Russian court rejected an appeal by Griner against her nine-year jail term for drug charges. She apologized for her "honest mistake" and said the period has been "very, very stressful."
Many have since argued that the nine-year jail term for Griner is harsh. Martina Navratilova replied to a tweet from sports journalist Kerith Burke, who said that Griner's sentence was an "extreme one". Burke had tweeted details on why the sentence given to Griner was an extreme one.
Reacting to that, Navratilova opined that Brittney Griner was being treated like a puppet and said it was shameful of the authorities to treat the sportsperson that way.
"Wow. Brittney is a total puppet… shame on the lot!," Navtratilova tweeted.
Wow. Brittney is a total puppet… shame on the lot! twitter.com/KerithBurke/st…
Griner was in Russia to play club basketball during the US off-season.
Martina Navratilova has a vocal presence on social media
Martina Navratilova has always used social media to broadcast her views on various pressing issues. The tennis legend recently opined that 'silence' regarding a matter is equivalent to 'consent' and urged fellow celebrities to use social media to speak up more often.
The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion further stated that celebrities do not have a specific responsibility to use social media and other platforms to reach out to people and express their beliefs on important matters. However, she believes they should still use it as they have a great opportunity to create an impact, and feels most celebrities do so.
Most recently, Navratilova took to social media to slam Dr. Mehmet Oz, a Turkish-American television presenter, author, and Republican nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, for his controversial take on abortion.
The American also expressed solidarity with TikTok star Emmanuel, an emu who is battling the deadly avian flu. The mischievous emu became a viral sensation when she started pecking at the phone while Taylor Blake was making an educational TikTok about farming.
In another instance, Martina Navratilova appealed to German multinational corporation Adidas to drop Kanye West in light of the singer/fashion designer making multiple antisemitic comments. The sportswear giant did end up severing ties with the American rapper and songwriter this week.