Oscars 2022: Award winner urges Joe Biden to 'bring Brittney Griner home'

Director Ben Proudfoot, who won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short, used his acceptance speech to urge US President Joe Biden to “bring Brittney Griner home”.

Proudfoot received the Best Documentary Short accolade for The Queen of Basketball, which tells the story of Lucy Harris, a professional female basketball player who became the first woman to be selected in an NBA Draft.

After accepting his Oscar, Proudfoot dedicated the award to Harris and her family, before pointing out that it would shut down those who doubted women’s sport.

“If there is anyone out there who doubts that there is an audience for female athletes and questions whether their stories are valuable or entertaining or important … let this Academy Award be the answer,” he said.

At the end of the speech, Proudfoot addressed Biden directly: “President Biden, bring Britney Griner home.”

Griner, considered one of the best female basketball players in the world, is detained in Russia on drug charges.

The Russian Federal Customs Service confirmed earlier this month that the 31-year-old was arrested in February at the Sheremetyevo Alexander S Pushkin International Airport.

"If there is anyone out there that still doubts whether there's an audience for female athletes, let this Academy Award be the answer." Ben Proudfoot accepts Academy Award Best Documentary Short for "The Queen of Basketball."https://t.co/1H1Y9jC9bl#oscars pic.twitter.com/y7CjC7UINz

She was detained after vape cartridges containing hashish oil were allegedly found in her bag.

Griner is set to remain under arrest in Moscow until at least May after a court granted an extension for investigators, as reported by Russia’s state news agency TASS.

She could face up to 10 years in prison if