WNBA star Brittney Griner detained in Russia

WNBA star Brittney Griner is being detained in Russia after customs officials said they found cartridges of hashish oil in her luggage at an airport near Moscow in February. The timing, legal experts and league sources agree, couldn’t be worse, coming amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a collapse in U.S.-Russia relations.

While reports of her detention prompted messages of concern and support from across the United States — including from the league, the Phoenix Mercury and U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) — there are many unknowns about what’s next for Griner. Her agent, executive vice president Lindsay Kagawa Colas of Wasserman Media Group, has said she’s in close contact with Griner’s family and her legal representation in Russia, and Griner’s wife, Cherelle, posted a message on Instagram asking for privacy as they work to get her home.

We spoke to Tom Firestone, a lawyer specializing in international criminal and compliance matters who spent eight years as the U.S. Department of Justice’s resident legal adviser at the U.S. embassy in Moscow, as well as sources across the league, to get an understanding of what we know — and don’t know — about what’s next for Griner.

When was Griner taken into custody?

In an interview with ESPN, U.S. Congressman Colin Allred (D-Texas) said Griner was detained by Russian officials on Feb. 17. Allred said the House Foreign Affairs Committee, of which he is a member, has been in contact with U.S. personnel at the nation’s embassy in Russia, though he said none of…