NEW YORK (AP) — Two WNBA players were among a dozen Americans that opted to play in Russia this past offseason, a decision New York Liberty forward Kayla Thornton said raised a few eyebrows following Brittney Griner’s incarceration in 2022.
“I had a lot of people trying to question my decision and were like, ‘Are you sure?’” Thornton told The Associated Press. “Me and my family prayed about it and that’s where my heart went, and I went. My mom is a pastor. She believes God’s going to take care of you. She prayed every night and obviously nothing bad happened.”
Other Americans haven't been as fortunate. Russia is known to be holding a number of Americans in its jails, including corporate security executive Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. The U.S. government has designated both as wrongfully detained and has been trying to negotiate for their release.
An American soldier was recently arrested in Russia and accused of stealing, according to two U.S. officials. Cynthia Smith, an Army spokeswoman, confirmed that a soldier was detained Thursday in Vladivostok, a major military and commercial Pacific port, on charges of criminal misconduct.
WNBA players routinely play in international leagues during the league's offseason. Russia has one of the highest-paying leagues and was the favored destination for top players like Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart and Griner. It’s lost its favored status following Griner’s arrest and 10-month imprisonment, as well as Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine.
“What she went through, my heart goes out to her,” Thornton said of Griner’s plight.
But despite what happened to Griner, Thornton and Monique Billings, a forward for the Los Angeles Sparks, made the trek to Russia and played for Dynamo Kursk. Billings, 28, is entering her seventh WNBA season. She was not available for comment on this story.
It is unclear how much the WNBA duo earned in Russia, but they had company: Several other former WNBA players were in the league — including Megan Walker and Bria Holmes.
Griner, a Phoenix Mercury center entering her 12th year in the WNBA said she holds no ill will toward any American who plays in Russia. She's more concerned about their safety.
“I have an old teammate that’s playing on my old team,” Griner told the AP. “I’m not mad or angry. I’m worried about them because the threat is there. They can do whatever they want over there. I ask them to be careful. Let everyone know where they are at all times.”
Thornton said she mainly just went between the gym and her house, so she didn’t interact with many people outside of her team. Her teammates were very friendly and Dynamo Kursk officials made her feel safe, she said.
“I keep to myself. It’s rare I go out. I hung out with some of the girls on the team, they were very welcoming and understood our situation," said the 31-year-old Thornton, who is entering her 10th season in the WNBA. "Their families cooked dinner for us. That was a blessing.”
Thornton, who also has played in Egypt, South Korea and Italy, said she did venture out a few times to take a trip to the ballet and to see the Kremlin when her team played in Moscow. She was nowhere near the city when a terrorist attack killed more than 130 people in late March.
“We heard about it, kind of like an eye opener to be aware of your surroundings,” Thornton said. “I don’t go out like that. I'm a low-key person. All I did was really go to the gym and go back to my house. I didn't go out too much. Took care of my business and came back home."
Thornton said overall she had a positive experience.
“I think it's just like when you go overseas to any other place, everyone has this (thought) about that," she said. "It’s just a regular country. I understand the politics, but it was normal.”
Thornton is undecided on whether she'll return to Russia next year.
“Right now I’m not thinking about that," she said. "That season is done with and I’m focusing on the Liberty.”
Associated Press Writer Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed to this report.
AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
FILE - New York Liberty forward Kayla Thornton, bottom, reacts in front of Seattle Storm center Ezi Magbegor, top, as a jump ball is called during the first half of a WNBA basketball game May 30, 2023, in Seattle. Two WNBA players were among a dozen Americans that opted to play in Russia this past offseason, a decision Thornton said raised a few eyebrows following Brittney Griner’s incarceration in 2022. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
BANSKA BYSTRICA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia’s populist prime minister, Robert Fico, remained in serious condition on Sunday but has been given a positive prognosis four days after he was shot multiple times in an assassination attempt that has sent shockwaves across the deeply polarized European Union nation, the defense minister said.
“The worst of what we feared has passed, at least for the moment. But his condition remains serious," Robert Kalinak told reporters outside the hospital where Fico is being treated. “His condition is stable with a positive prognosis.”
Kalinak added that the hospital treating the Slovak leader in Banská Bystrica, a former coal mining town of 16,000 situated 29 kilometers (17 miles) from where Fico was attacked, will continue to issue updates on his health status.
On Sunday afternoon, Kalinak revealed new details about the ongoing investigation saying there may have been a “third party” involved in “acting for the benefit of the perpetrator”, in what was previously described by the authorities as a “lone wolf” attack. The official did not provide additional details.
“The situation is turning out to be even worse than we expected,” Kalinak said. ”Plus other indications that these facts of Wednesday’s attack have been discussed in a wider circle. All of this is shocking information, and for many of us, it would be much easier if we could talk about just one person.”
Milan Urbáni, deputy director of the hospital, told reporters that "Based on the doctors’ morning consultation, we can conclude that the patient is currently out of a life-threatening condition. His condition remains very serious, and he needs a long time to rest to recover. We firmly believe that everything will go in a good direction.”
Fico, 59, was shot in the abdomen as he greeted supporters on Wednesday outside a cultural center in the town of Handlova, nearly 140 kilometers (85 miles) northeast of the capital, Bratislava. Video showed the Slovak premier approach people gathered at barricades and reach out to shake hands as a man stepped forward, extended his arm and fired five rounds before being tackled and arrested.
On Friday, Fico underwent two hours of surgery to remove dead tissue from his gunshot wounds, but he was not healthy enough to be transferred to the capital, officials said Saturday.
The country’s Specialized Criminal Court in the town of Pezinok on Saturday ordered the suspected assailant, who is charged with attempted murder, to remain behind bars. Prosecutors said they feared he could flee or commit other crimes if freed, a court spokesperson said. The suspect can appeal the order.
Little information about the would-be assassin has been disclosed after prosecutors told police not to publicly identify him or release details about the case. Unconfirmed media reports have named him and said he was a 71-year-old retiree known as an amateur poet who may have once worked as a mall security guard. Government authorities have given details that matched that description. They said the suspect didn’t belong to any political groups, though the attack itself was politically motivated.
Slovakia’s interior minister, Matus Sutaj Estok, said Sunday that the attack on Fico is an “attack on democracy in any normal country”. “At a time when democracy is being attacked, it must be the security forces that have to give a clear signal that they are prepared to protect the population of the Slovak Republic,” he said.
Fico said last month on Facebook that he believed rising tensions in the country could lead to the killing of politicians, and he blamed the media for fueling tensions in the country of 5.4 million.
Slovakia’s three-party coalition government has also partly accused the media of fueling the vitriolic discourse that has beleaguered the EU country in recent years and led to deep social divisions.
Andrej Danko, chairman of the government’s smallest coalition partner, the Slovak National Party, said Sunday he is expecting a government meeting early next week to discuss media laws and journalistic ethics, including how journalists report on domestic politics.
In his address on Sunday, Kalinak also stressed that lessons must be learned from the violent attack on Fico, who has long been a divisive figure in Slovakia and beyond. “This must be a memento. If we don’t learn, we’re heading for hell,” he said. “We need to bring this situation back to what we can consider standard.”
Fico’s government has made efforts to overhaul public broadcasting — a move critics said would give the government full control of public television and radio. That, along with his plans to amend the penal code to eliminate a special anti-graft prosecutor, have led opponents to worry that Fico will lead Slovakia down a more autocratic path.
Before Fico returned to power last year, many of his political and business associates were the focus of police investigations, and dozens have been charged. His plan to overhaul the penal system would eliminate the office of the special prosecutor that deals with organized crime, corruption and extremism.
At the St. Francis Xavier Cathedral in Banská Bystrica on Sunday, churchgoer and lawyer Pavel Bachleda called the assassination attempt “a great tragedy” but also expressed concerns about how Fico and his Smer, or Direction, party has conducted itself in recent years.
“I would say partly also his actions, his actions in the previous months and years, have brought about the situation in our country,” he told The Associated Press. “You get the impression that they concentrate more on revenge, political revenge than on real things that our country needs.”
Stanislav Hodina in Prague, Czech Republic, and Stephen McGrath in Side, Turkey, contributed to this report.
Churchgoers attend a mass at St Francis Xavier Cathedral, in Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Slovakia's populist prime minister, Robert Fico, remained in serious condition on Sunday but has been given a positive prognosis four days after he was shot multiple times in an assassination attempt that has sent shockwaves across the deeply polarized European Union nation, the defense minister Rober Kalinak said. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
Churchgoers attend a mass at St Francis Xavier Cathedral, in Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Slovakia's populist prime minister, Robert Fico, remained in serious condition on Sunday but has been given a positive prognosis four days after he was shot multiple times in an assassination attempt that has sent shockwaves across the deeply polarized European Union nation, the defense minister Rober Kalinak said. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
Churchgoers attend a mass at St Francis Xavier Cathedral, in Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Slovakia's populist prime minister, Robert Fico, remained in serious condition on Sunday but has been given a positive prognosis four days after he was shot multiple times in an assassination attempt that has sent shockwaves across the deeply polarized European Union nation, the defense minister Rober Kalinak said. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
Churchgoers attend a mass at St Francis Xavier Cathedral, in Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Slovakia's populist prime minister, Robert Fico, remained in serious condition on Sunday but has been given a positive prognosis four days after he was shot multiple times in an assassination attempt that has sent shockwaves across the deeply polarized European Union nation, the defense minister Rober Kalinak said. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
Churchgoers attend a mass at St Francis Xavier Cathedral, in Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Sunday, May 19, 2024. Slovakia's populist prime minister, Robert Fico, remained in serious condition on Sunday but has been given a positive prognosis four days after he was shot multiple times in an assassination attempt that has sent shockwaves across the deeply polarized European Union nation, the defense minister Rober Kalinak said. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
People get well wish notes outside the F. D. Roosevelt University Hospital, where Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, is being treated, in Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Saturday, May 18, 2024. The man accused of attempting to assassinate Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico made his first court appearance Saturday as the nation's leader remained in serious condition recovering from surgery after surviving multiple gunshots, Slovak state media said. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
People gather outside the F. D. Roosevelt University Hospital, where Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, is being treated, in Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Saturday, May 18, 2024. The man accused of attempting to assassinate Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico made his first court appearance Saturday as the nation's leader remained in serious condition recovering from surgery after surviving multiple gunshots, Slovak state media said. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
A car supposedly carrying the suspect, in shooting of Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, leaves the court in Pezinok, Saturday, May 18, 2024. Officials in Slovakia say Prime Minister Robert Fico has undergone another operation two days after his assassination attempt and remains in serious condition. (AP Photo/Tomas Benedikovic)
Flowers are placed outside the F. D. Roosevelt University Hospital, where Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, is being treated, in Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Saturday, May 18, 2024. The man accused of attempting to assassinate Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico made his first court appearance Saturday as the nation's leader remained in serious condition recovering from surgery after surviving multiple gunshots, Slovak state media said. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
