What was the sentence of Brittney Griner in Russia?

After more than nine months imprisoned in Russia, Brittney Griner was released in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

According to the Russian Foreign Minister, the prisoner exchange took place at the Abu Dhabi airport, capital of the United Arab Emirates.

the basketball player was detained on February 17 at the Sheremetyevo international airport because she was in possession of vaporizers with cannabis oil. Said substance is illegal in Russia and the player claimed that she had them for medicinal purposes.

The seven-time WNBA All-Star was in pretrial detention until May 19. As an American, an African American and a homosexual, she feared for her situation in a Russian prison.

By July, the 31-year-old basketball player pleaded guilty to expedite the legal process. Nevertheless, on August 4 Judge Anna Sotnikovaof the Khimki court, found Griner guilty of drug trafficking and two-time Olympic medalist He received a nine-year sentence accompanied by a fine of one million rubles.

President Joe Biden declared through his Twitter account that Griner “He’s safe, he’s on a plane, he’s on his way home.” The objective of the US government was to free the basketball player and the marine Paul Whelan, accused of espionage in 2018, but he will continue working to free the soldier.

IT MAY INTEREST YOU: The Los Angeles Lakers are the most popular team in the USA.

Why was he playing in Russia?

The WNBA superstar played for UMMC Ekaterinburg while American basketball was on hiatus. The reason Griner was playing in Europe was the salary disparity that exists between the Russian Women’s Premier Basketball League and the WNBA.

Read Also:  The fastest 5K film drone in the world: from 100 to 300 km/h in just 2 seconds

According to Spotrac, the highest salary for the upcoming WNBA season is $234,936 and only two players will earn that much: Jewell Loyd of the Seattle Storm and Arike Ogunbowale of the Dallas Wings.

The Globe and Mail reported that in Russia the best basketball players can earn more than a million dollarswhich is five times what Griner would earn with the WNBA Mercury.

Recent Articles

Related News

Leave A Reply

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here