Playing overseas remains extremely popular for W.N.B.A. players seeking to earn more money or gain more pro experience, but several agents and players told The New York Times that, because of Griner’s ordeal and the war, they did not know of anyone who would be playing in Russia this off-season.
Players better hope countries like Turkey and Hungary don’t become full allies to Russia anytime soon
Turkey has a very long history of being anti-Russia
Although, while I’m not super familiar with Turkey, it seems they’ve also been a little less… democratic, if that’s the right word, over the years under Erdogan’s rule. I guess as long as they don’t ever become strictly anti-gay…
It's hard to argue that someone like Jonquel Jones, who is not a U.S. citizen and comes from a poor background, should sacrifice her and her family's financial stability over Griner's politically motivated detention. Of course, it's hard to argue that she shouldn't support Griner too ...
And despite Orban's popularity with Trump and the right, Hungary's economy is hurting (in part due to his socialist policies) and a closer link to Russia and its shrinking economy seems unlikely. And as noted above, an alliance of Turkey and Russia is about as likely as an alliance of the U.S. and Venezuela.