WNBA superstar Brittney Griner is staring down a terrifying situation in Russia.
Back in February, the 31-year-old was detained after customs officers allegedly discovered hashish oil in her suitcase at an airport near Moscow.
Russian Federal Customs Service claimed this weekend that, during a search, they found vape cartridges which contained oil derived from cannabis.
The issue there?
If this thing progresses, Griner could be staring at an extremely long prison stint.
“A criminal case has been opened into the large-scale transportation of drugs, which can carry a sentence of up to 10 years behind bars in Russia,” the New York Times reported.
Griner’s reps addressed the situation on Saturday.
“We are aware of the situation with Brittney Griner in Russia and are in close contact with her, her legal representation in Russia, her family, her teams, and the WNBA and NBA,” her agent Lindsay Kagawa Colasm said.
“As this is an ongoing legal matter, we are not able to comment further on the specifics of her case but can confirm that as we work to get her home, her mental and physical health remain our primary concern.”
What makes this situation all the more horrifying is the fact that the United States State Department literally just declared a “do not travel” advisory for Russia in light of its invasion of Ukraine and urgently asked all U.S. citizens to return home.
Clearly that isn’t an option for Griner right now.
Obviously this isn’t the first time in recent months that sports, politics and international law have intersected. Nor is it the first time an American president has had to get involved in a matter like this.
Skip Bayless and Russell Westbrook’s wife exchange jabs. https://t.co/QCt9zWGvqE
— Game 7 (@game7__) March 5, 2022
But the timing here could not be worse.
What will ultimately end up happening to Griner? An answer should emerge in the coming days and weeks.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
