Brittney Griner is an amazing basketball player. She is an Olympic gold medalist and WNBA star. However, she is currently detained in Russia and unable to come back to the United States.

When Griner was at a Russian airport in February, the police discovered vape canisters in her luggage. She was detained for possession of cannabis oil, which is illegal in Russia. She has gone to court, and it is not looking promising.

Griner wrote a letter to President Joe Biden on the 4th of July pleading for the president to do something, anything to get her safely back home. Griner’s wife and coach have both spoken out about the chargers against her and also pleaded for something to happen to get the superstar athlete home.

Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, was pretty blunt about the situation when speaking to Good Morning America. She called Griner “a political pawn.”

Griner’s coach, Vanessa Nygaard, thinks it’s more than just politics. She thinks that Griner isn’t home because she’s a woman instead of a man. Nygaard compared Griner to LeBron James. She said, “If it was LeBron he’d be home, right?” She added, “It’s a statement about the value of women. It’s a statement about the value of a black person. It’s a statement about the value of a gay person.”

What does James think about the situation? He has met Griner before. He is aware of her detainment in Russia. Now, he too is speaking out. In an interview, he explained that he can’t really even imagine what it must be like to be Griner right now. He said, “I was trying to imagine it, and it’s hard for me to even put myself into what she’s going through.”

Then James went on to explain why he’s not even sure Griner will want to return to the United States when this is all over. He said, “When you’re from a certain place you feel like they’ve got your back.” He continued, “How could she feel like America has her back. I would be feeling like do I even want to go back to America if I’ve been gone over 130 days and I feel like it’s been zero effort.”

Watch the video below to hear James speak about Griner’s unfortunate situation.