WNBA star Brittney Griner was arrested in February at an airport in Moscow for allegedly carrying cannabis oil. While cannabis is legal in some states in the United States, it is illegal in Russia. After she was detained, Griner went through multiple court hearings. The Phoenix Mercury star pleaded guilty, however, insisted breaking the law was not her intention. Griner’s representatives also stated that cannabis was prescribed to her in the U.S. for medicinal purposes.

Griner plays for UMMC Ekaterinburg in the Russian league during the WNBA offseason. Playing for the Russian team, she earns substantially more than she does in the WNBA. People from the team testified for her during the hearings as well.?

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After multiple hearings, Griner received a nine-year sentence. Many fans and celebrities called out the U.S. government as well as they felt the effort made to bring her back was not enough.

Russian spokeswoman about Brittney Griner

The U.S. government has been taking steps to bring Brittney Griner back home, and it has characterized her as “wrongfully detained.” And the Russian government was not happy with that. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova once discussed the basketball star’s situation and drugs in the country before the sentencing.

She noted, ?You understand, if drugs are legalized in the United States, in a number of states, and this is done for a long time, and now the whole country will become drug-addicted, this does not mean that all other countries are following the same path.?

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Recently there were reports that the U.S. government has made a “substantial offer” to bring Griner back home. This was after President Joe Biden met Cherelle Griner at the Oval office. The POTUS reassured Cherelle about the efforts to bring Griner back to the country.

This past season in the WNBA, the Las Vegas Aces won their first-ever title after a highly entertaining finals match-up against the Connecticut Suns. And so they celebrated in style with their fans.

Griner missed the whole season and the Phoenix Mercury struggled without her. It was a very tough and emotional season for the players to play while their teammate was detained in Russia. Especially the game after the sentence was announced. However, they pushed through and finished the season.