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WNBA players say life in Russia was lucrative but lonely

FILE - Team USA basketball player Breanna Stewart talks to the media following a spring training practice session, Friday, April 1, 2022, in Minneapolis. For the elite athletes in the WNBA, spending the offseason by playing in Russia can mean earning more money than they can make back home — sometimes even two or three times as much. “My experience in Russia has been amazing, to be honest,” said Breanna Stewart, who has played for Ekaterinburg since 2020. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File) FILE - Phoenix Mercury's Brittney Griner, left, watches practice with teammate Diana Taurasi on Thursday, May 10, 2018, in Phoenix. Since arriving a Moscow airport in mid-February, Griner has been detained by police after they reported finding vape cartridges allegedly containing cannabis oil in her luggage. Still in jail, she is awaiting trial next month on charges that could bring up to 10 years in prison. Taurasi also spent years playing in Russia for UMKC Ekaterinburg owner Shabtai Kalmanovich, and spoke of luxurious living conditions and the lavish trips he would provide. (AP Photo/Matt York, File) FILE - Old Dominion head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones watches from the bench during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Rice in the Conference USA women's tournament, Friday, March 12, 2021, in Frisco, Texas. Milton-Jones was one of the first WNBA marquee American players to play in Russia in the early 2000s. The former All-American at Florida, WNBA All-Star and two-time WNBA champion with the Los Angeles Sparks said the decision to play in Russia was simply a “business one.” (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File) FILE - Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner (42) shoots next to Las Vegas Aces center Liz Cambage, obscured, during the first half of Game 5 of a WNBA basketball playoff series Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Las Vegas. Since arriving a Moscow airport in mid-February, Griner has been detained by police after they reported finding vape cartridges allegedly containing cannabis oil in her luggage. Still in jail, she is awaiting trial next month on charges that could bring up to 10 years in prison.(AP Photo/Chase Stevens, File) FILE - United States' Brittney Griner (15) plays during a women's basketball preliminary round game against Japan at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 30, 2021, in Saitama, Japan. Griner went to Russia to earn extra money. But the experience has turned into a prolonged nightmare after she was arrested in February by police who reported finding vape cartridges allegedly containing cannabis oil in her luggage. She is awaiting trial on charges that could bring a prison term.(AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
WNBA players say life in Russia was lucrative but lonely