Featured Image Credit: Facebook/TIME/Alamy
Topics: Australia, NBA, Basketball, Russia
Max Sherry
Fans are going to town on TIME Magazine, accusing the publication of a 'high school photoshop' edit for their recent front cover featuring Brittney Griner.
WNBA star Griner has been behind bars in Russia since February she was allegedly found carrying vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage at the airport.
She has been standing trial and has since pleaded guilty to drug charges.
Her incarceration has been a hot topic of debate with some people calling for her release, while others say she is being fairly detained seeing as though she broke the law.
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Either way, sports fans and big-name athletes alike appear split, so when TIME Magazine stuck Griner's face on the cover of their latest addition, it make people even more divided.
While a bunch of people questioned why she even made the cover fo the prestigious publication, others pointed out another detail in the artwork.
Popular social media page Old Row Sports posted a picture of the cover on Facebook, captioning it: "BRUH Time just dropped some high school photoshop onto the cover of their magazine."
They also drew circles around the parts of the photograph which had clearly been edited.
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The post itself racked up a huge amount of engagements with over 20,000 reactions and 23,000 comments.
Social media users took to the comments section to have their say on the matter while some continued slating the front cover.
One person said: "They really put her on the cover? That’s sad and pathetic. Time is a joke."
While another commented: "Freedom? She had her 'freedom'... she didn’t appreciate nor did she respect it... why should we care?"
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As a third added: "Just curious why Eli Dicken wasn’t on this month’s Time cover? You know, the hero who took out a mall active shooter and saved the lives of many."
A number of sports stars inclusing Megan Rapinoe and Steph Curry have made demands for her release.
Others have sat on the other side of the fence, including people like Donald Trump, who criticsed the basketball star for turning up to a Russian airport 'loaded with drugs'.
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Last month, Griner pleased guilty to the charges but denied intentionally breaking the law.
She told the court, via Reuters: “I'd like to plead guilty, your honour. But there was no intent. I didn't want to break the law.
"I'd like to give my testimony later. I need time to prepare.”