Its been over 170 days since Brittney Griner was arrested in Russia. And the court has finally given its verdict. It found Griner guilty of smuggling charges and sentenced her to nine years in prison. And despite mounting pressure on the US government and support for Griner, an NBA legend confesses a hard truth about the situation.

Griner was found guilty of smuggling drugs with intent to distribute and despite her emotional speech, Griner found no mercy in court. Russian prosecutors asked for nine and half years and she was awarded nine years. This comes after the United States government offered a deal to Russian authorities for her release.

Jamal Crawford gives a brutal take on Brittney Griner and her situation

After her verdict, many fans were distraught about learning about her punishment. Several NBA and WNBA players came out in support of her. They asked the United States government to secure her release as quickly as possible.

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But NBA legend Jamal Crawford believes there is difficulty ahead. He tweeted, “This Brittney Griner situation isn?t sitting right with me. We can only do so much with Russia, but we HAVE to keep pressure on our home officials to do whatever they need to do to get her home!”

Despite pressure and calls for her release from athletes and celebrities, there is seemingly no impact of this on the Russian authorities. However, the US government recently said that they approved a prisoner swap deal with Russia. It would include Victor Bout, a convicted arms dealer, in exchange for Griner and another American currently being held in custody in Russia.

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There have been talks about this, but experts suggest the deal will still take time. This is far better than before when there was no communication before. It’s been over 170 days since Griner has been arrested and this is the most the two governments have communicated.

Do you agree with what Jamal Crawford said? What do you think will happen next in Brittney Griner’s case? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below.