Agents: Some WNBA Players in Russia Plan to Leave Country After Ukraine Invasion

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A number of WNBA players currently playing in Russia are reportedly exploring ways to leave the country amid the government’s invasion of Ukraine, according to ESPN’s Mechelle Voepel.

“For me, it’s way past ‘considering’ leaving,” agent Mike Cound told Voepel. “I’ve been on the phone with two players in the past few minutes working out flights. It’s really urgent now in terms of there being a dwindling number of flights leaving Russia, and they are going to be hard to get real soon. They are probably fine if they stay put, but if things get worse, that may not be the case. My idea is, ‘Get them out now if we can.’ And if we can’t, we get them to hunker down and stay safe.”

Those comments mirrored a security alert from the United States embassy in Moscow on Sunday, which stated that “an increasing number of airlines are cancelling flights into and out of Russia, and numerous countries have closed their airspace to Russian airlines. U.S. citizens should consider departing Russia immediately via commercial options still available.”

Most WNBA players join overseas leagues during the WNBA offseason, and Cound noted that several of his clients may move to leagues in other European countries as a safety precaution.

According to Voepel, a number of agents she spoke to said they didn’t believe their clients “are in immediate danger but that if the situation worsens, they could be or might be unable to leave at that point.”

Among the WNBA players who joined the Russian Women’s Basketball Premier League this winter are Brittney Griner, Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, Courtney Vandersloot, Allie Quigley, Arike Ogunbowale, Natasha Howard and Epiphanny Prince.

All WNBA players in Ukraine have already left the country.

“The few WNBA players who were competing this offseason in Ukraine are no longer in the country,” the league said in a statement Thursday. “The league has also been in contact with WNBA players who are in Russia, either directly or through their agents. We will continue to closely monitor the situation.”

Washington Mystics guard Ariel Atkins, who plays for Ukraine’s BC Prometey during the WNBA offseason, wrote in her Instagram Stories on Thursday that she was out of the country after playing a game with the team in Bulgaria.

“Can’t even put into words how proud I am of my Ukrainian teammates for drying up their tears and giving their best tonight,” she wrote. “A big part of me is angry of what’s happening in the world.”