A Case Study of the Unfortunate Brittney Griner Situation
Worst case scenarios. We might stress over them - especially when doing something out of our comfort zone - but in the end, everything tends to work out… but not every time. Unfortunately for Brittney Griner, a worst case scenario truly happened in one of the worst places at one of the worst times.
On February 17, 2022, Brittney Griner was arrested by the Russian Federal Customs Service at the Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow, Russia. The Russian authorities found cannabis oil vape cartridges in her luggage - cannabis is illegal in Russia. I’m not sure what Brittney did and did not know prior to this unfortunate trip but being aware of relevant laws, customs, and culture of the country you are traveling to, along with knowing how your personal attributes stand against the possible situations you could face, will help you increase your travel safety and security, and minimize the chances of ending up in Brittney’s situation. Let’s go back in time to the beginning of 2022 and assess Brittney’s personal travel risk in Russia.
While we all share some common characteristics and experiences, each of us also possess a combination of significant information that can affect how an event may directly affect us. I don’t know Brittney personally, but I have had a chance to read about her on the Internet. From what I’ve read, I can identify some significant pieces of information about her life that an adversary might want or need to carry out harmful activities. Brittney is an African American member of the LGBTQIA+ community who was already well known before this year and has a history of speaking & acting against social injustice. Depending on where in the world she travels, one or more of these specific pieces of information could increase her value to an adversary.
Every country has good and bad attributes. For our purposes, let’s look at the security environment in Russia and how the current threats in Russia affect Brittney’s significant information. Brittney’s US citizenship was threatened because of Russia’s anti-US sentiment and high political violence and civil unrest directed at US government interests. Being a black, well known, US citizen (foreigner) increased her chances of being a victim of harassment, mistreatment, and extortion. Because Brittney is part of the LGBTQIA+ community, she faced a heightened possibility of violent physical assaults. Brittney also has a history of speaking out against social injustice, which may have been seen in Russia as holding oppositionist views and therefore increased her chances of being criminally charged.
Brittney would have needed to take adversaries perpetrating these threats seriously, especially if they had the intent, capability, and history of carrying out similar threatening activities. Since there’s no expectation of privacy in Russia - everything is monitored - adversaries likely had all of her significant information listed above and more. Brittney also happened to be traveling during the time leading up to the Ukraine war. The need and interest in gaining political leverage against US and western governments against Russia’s desire to invade Ukraine, along with proven methods, tools, and history of exploiting significant information would mean that the threat to Brittney was high.
But just because the threat is high doesn’t guarantee an adversary will act on those threats. Unfortunately for Brittany, her significant information and the timing of her travel to Russia made her an attractive target. The ease the Russian government had to access her personal and sensitive information and the impact they knew would result from its exploitation substantially increased the vulnerability of Brittney’s significant information.
All of these factors; Brittney’s significant information, the high threat to her information in Russian, and the increased vulnerability of her significant information; taken into consideration displayed a high probability of an undesirable event (i.e. being arrested for illegal drugs) occurring. Combined with a potential outcome of an undesirable event likely resulting in a noticeable impact for an indefinite period of time, Brittney’s personal travel risk in Russia was definitely high; the impending war increased her risk to a critical level.
Those of us who have traveled more, may get comfortable and not want to take all the mundane steps recommended to prepare for travel abroad. Brittney Griner’s situation should make you reconsider this decision. Take the time to research and thoughtfully pack before going somewhere new. You may know the laws, culture, and customs like the back of your hand at home, but when entering a different country, you are subject to their rules, their laws. You may not be able to prevent an undesirable event, but your pre-travel actions can help minimize the impact of an undesirable event on your life.
Brittney Griner traveled to Russia for her job. Since the WNBA season is only about 5 months a year, and WNBA players don’t make near the amount of money as their male counterparts in the NBA, I believe she probably felt this was one of the only ways she would be able to continue doing something she loved and make money.
Deciding if the purpose of your travel is worth the risk is entirely up to you - Risk versus Reward - and is a decision that only you can make. If you have decided the purpose of your trip is worth the risk, I recommend the following list to help you prevent and mitigate risks.
Complete a Personal Travel Risk Assessment
Prepare for your medical needs
Prepare electronics to protect private information
Acquire the appropriate insurance
Prepare appropriate financial & legal information
Establish a communications plan with trusted contacts
Develop an emergency response plan
Pre-sale of my Travel Risk Workbook begins October 18, 2022. Sign up for the Safe Travel Academy email list to receive notifications.
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