Brittney Griner — Creative Commons 3.0 License

And just that quick, Brittney Griner has disappeared from the news cycle. Just like she vanished into Russia’s prison system.

We cannot let this happen. Time to talk her up. Bring her up in people’s minds and in social media.

There was a brief chatter last week when Dennis Rodman claimed he would go to Russia and try to get Griner released, but that is over. Rodman is not going. He was likely advised by the U.S. not go to Russia.

Yet, it was a noble deed by Rodman. Rodman, for a few days, reminded people of Griner’s plight in Russia. It also reminded us of the others also stuck in Russia.

There are at least two school teachers in Russian prisons. And there are others. A Marine, Paul Whelan. Considering the hostile nature (at least in appearance) of U.S. — Russian relations, Russia is not the spot right now.

When I recently did a search of Griner’s name, only gossip sites came up. The mainstream news outlets, the digital reporting sites, and the journalists who were tracking her arrest and trial, are gone. Football season is about to start so who knows how ESPN and other sports sites will handle her story.

The Russian government did warn they did not want this case to become a news phenomenon. Perhaps, this is part of it. The last entry on the U.S. State Department website is almost a month ago. It is a statement by the Secretary of State, Anthony J. Blinken:

“Today’s conviction and sentencing by a Russian court of U.S. citizen Brittney Griner to nine years in prison further compounds the injustice of her wrongful detention. This step puts a spotlight on our significant concerns with Russia’s legal system and the Russian government’s use of wrongful detentions to advance its own agenda, using individuals as political pawns.”

Yet, there is something to take away from Rodman’s move.Talk it up. Don’t let it die out. Write about Griner. Read about Griner. The NBA, when it gets going again, needs to put Griner front and center. This is all we have now.

We, the public must keep her in the mix.

Dawn Staley, the WNBA great, basketball coaching legend, and Olympic basketball champion, is doing that. She is singlehandedly keeping Griner’s name in the mix. She posts everyday. She has two hashtags — #WeAreBG and #FreeBrittneyGriner.

Let us use these hashtags. Especially people of influence. Especially people who have the ear of important people who can talk this up. We know this is political. We know this is just geopolitics at work.

But it is time to end all of that and get Brittney Griner out and free. And all the other Americans detained for no good reason.

The squeakiest wheel always gets the grease.

thanks for reading and do use the hashtags #FreeBrittneyGriner and #WeAreBG.