U.S. Rep. Colin Allred says he's working with State Department to secure release of WNBA star Brittney Griner from Russia

A U.S. congressman who played football at Baylor is among those concerned about the welfare of Brittney Griner, who is being held in Russia on drug charges. Colin Allred (D-Texas) spoke Wednesday about Griner, who played for Baylor's women's basketball team from 2009-2013 and has been with the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury for nine seasons.

Allred said Griner, who also played for UMMC Ekaterinburg, was detained entering Russia on Feb. 17.

«My office has been in touch with the State Department, and we're working with them to see what is the best way forward,» said Allred, who a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. «I know the administration is working hard to try and get access to her and try to be helpful here. But obviously, it's also happening in the context of really strained relations. I do think that it's really unusual that we've not been granted access to her from our embassy and our consular services.

»The Russian criminal justice system is very different than ours, very opaque. We don't have a lot of insight into where she is in that process right now. But she's been held for three weeks now, and that's extremely concerning."

Allred referenced two other cases of Americans in recent years who have been imprisoned in Russia. Trevor Reed was arrested in 2019 after Russian authorities say he resisted arrest and attacked officers. Paul Whelan was arrested in 2018 on espionage charges. Both men are former Marines and have disputed the charges against them. Reed was sentenced to nine years in prison and Whelan 16.

«So this is not the first time in recent years that an American has been detained and then held either without reason or without a sufficient kind of explanation,» Allred said. «What's obviously different