Tag: Brittney Griner

Mercury, Sun hold 42-second moment of silence for Brittney Griner after WNBA star’s sentencing

What a powerful moment in support of Brittney Griner.

The WNBA world continues to throw its support behind Brittney Griner.

On Thursday, 31-year-old Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison after being detained in Russia in February for carrying less than a gram of cannabis oil in her luggage. Griner called the incident a “honest mistake”, saying she never meant to hurt anyone with her actions.

The situation is dire for Griner — a gay, black woman — and the sports world knows it, though it seems as if there’s still hope for a possible prisoner exchange. After the sentencing, the Connecticut Sun and the Phoenix Mercury, Griner’s current team, held a 42-second moment of silence to show their support for the star.

The WNBA also released a statement of support for Griner after the moment of silence.

Tonight, members of the Connecticut Sun join our colleagues on the Phoenix Mercury at half court for 42 seconds, Brittney Griner’s jersey number, to recognize the gravity of the moment and collectively send her strength.

We are inspired every day by BG’s strength and we are steadfastly committed to keeping her top-of-mind publicly until she is safely back on American soil.

We invite all of you here tonight to stand in solidarity with us.

Bringing Brittney and other wrongfully detained Americans home is the primary objective. We are and will remain focused and unified. This is a time for compassion and a shared understanding that getting a deal done to bring Americans home will be hard, but it is urgent and it is the right thing to do.

It is time they come home swiftly and safely.

Here’s hoping Griner is brought back home as quickly as possible.

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There’s still a way to free Brittney Griner, but the United States needs to act fast

It’s time for the United States to bring Brittney Griner home.

Brittney Griner has been wrongfully detained in Russia for months now since she was arrested back earlier this year for carrying cannabis oil in her luggage.

Russian authorities handed her a nine-year prison sentence for what they called “drug smuggling,” despite her insistence that she accidentally packed it on her way into the country to prepare to play for her Russian club.

Fans everywhere were absolutely devastated when authorities handed the final verdict down. It feels very clear that Griner is being used as a pawn here — she possessed less than a gram of cannabis oil when she was detained.

But, believe it or not, all hope isn’t lost here for Griner.

There’s still a path to bringing her home and reuniting her with her loved ones and it starts now with her sentencing, despite how daunting the task feels.

Let’s dive into what happens next for Griner:

Fans poured in support for Brittney Griner after Russian authorities sentenced WNBA star to 9 years in prison

Free Brittney Griner. Free Brittney Griner. Free Brittney Griner.

Brittney Griner’s situation in Russia has shifted from precarious to straight-up disastrous.

The WNBA star made her final appeal in a Russian court on Thursday by issuing an apology to her family, her fans and her team for her “honest mistake” of carrying less than a gram carrying cannabis oil in her luggage upon arrival in Russia.

It seems that the apology fell on deaf ears with Russian authorities. The judge sentenced Griner to nine years in prison after finding her guilty of drug smuggling, per ABC News’ James Longman.

It was only a half year off of the 9.5 years prosecutors requested from the judge ahead of the sentencing.

In her statement, Griner said she never meant to heart anyone and begged Russian authorities not to “end my life here.”

“I never meant to hurt anybody. I never meant to put in jeopardy the Russian population. I never meant to break any laws here. I made an honest mistake and I hope that in your ruling that it doesn’t end my life here.”

Griner now has a nine-year sentence and is gravely in danger for obvious reasons.

The Russian justice system is mysterious at best and sinister at its worst — particularly for someone like Griner who is a gay, Black woman. Russia isn’t known for being kind to people like her.

She needs help and she needs it fast. No one knows what will happen to her over there and, honestly, it’s terrifying to think about.

That’s why fans everywhere passionately voiced their support for Griner after we learned of the sentencing: