WNBA Legend Lisa Leslie Claims She Was Told Not to 'Make a Fuss' over Brittney Griner

One of the WNBA’s most legendary figures, Lisa Leslie, revealed on a recent podcast that she was told not “make a big fuss” over Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner’s detention in Russia.

Griner has been detained in Russia since late February after vape cartridges containing hashish oil were found in her luggage at the Moscow airport.

“What we were told, and again this is all sort of passed along through hearsay, but what we were told was to not make a big fuss about it so that they could not use her as a pawn, so to speak, in this situation, in the war,” Leslie said during the I am Athlete podcast, which was released on Friday.

Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Leslie added, “So, to make it like it’s not that important or don’t make it where we’re like, ‘Free Brittney’ and we start this campaign, and then it becomes something that they can use.”

Jones did not reveal who instructed her to not talk about Griner or who repeated the hearsay.

When not playing for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, Griner plays basketball for Russian team UMMC Ekaterinburg.

Griner recently met with officials from the U.S. Consulate in Moscow who described her as being in “good condition.” The Phenix Mercury star and Houston native also had her detention extended to May 19 by a Russian court. Under Russian law, the penalty for transporting drugs carries a sentence of up to ten years.

The U.S. State Department has vowed to do everything they can to achieve Griner’s release.

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