The American player was in Russia playing for Ekaterinburg, one of the great Russian women’s basketball clubs.
US Olympic basketball champion Brittney Griner, was arrested in Russia after being accused of carrying narcotics, according to Russian authorities and American sports authorities, in the midst of a crisis between the West and Moscow after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“USA Basketball is aware of and closely follows the legal situation facing Brittney Griner in Russia,” officials of the United States national team wrote on Twitter, conveying their “concern” for “safety and well-being.” of the player
Her club, the Phoenix Mercury, and the American Professional Players Union (WNBPA) claimed to be “informed” of Brittney Griner’s situation.
It would have been cannabis oil
It was in February when the inspection of the hand luggage carried by the player, who arrived in Russia on a flight from New York, would have allowed “confirming the presence of vaping material and a liquid that had a particular odor,” according to the official. Russian federal customs service in a statement.
An expert was later able to establish that it was cannabis oil, according to that statement.
Customs had not revealed the woman’s identity but specified that she is “a member of the American National Basketball Association (WNBA) and double Olympic basketball champion with the American team.”
Brittney Griner’s track record fits that description, as she won her second Olympic gold at the Tokyo Games last year. The athlete is now exposed to a sentence of between 5 and 10 years in prison, according to the same source.
A Russian response to the sports boycott?
The American player was in Russia playing for the Ekaterinburg, one of the great Russian women’s basketball clubs.
Like many, Brittney disputes the WNBA season and when it ends, she signs for a European team, mostly for economic reasons.
Within that project, when she was at the airport, she was arrested. However, from the player’s environment they deny the accusation due to her professional attitude.
These details, such as not specifying the day of the arrest or the identity of the person, make the United States suspect if it is a response to the sports boycott that different countries have made to Russia.
