Brittney Griner, one of the WNBA’s all-time greats, has just been sentenced to 9 years in prison in Russia, and the US is doing everything in their power to bring her home.
Griner, who was arrested after Russian authorities discovered a cannabis vape pen in her luggage, has been the subject a massive diplomatic effort by the White House, with plenty of talk about a possible “prisoner swap” swirling for weeks.
Russia, until now, has been reluctant to even discuss such a deal, opting instead to levy the incredibly harsh sentence upon Griner, (some of which could see her working in a penal colony), before opening negotiations, thus revealing a Kremlin scam to add leverage to any future deal.
The Kremlin said Friday that it’s open to talking about a possible prisoner exchange involving American basketball star Brittney Griner but strongly warned Washington against publicizing the issue.
Griner, a two-time U.S. Olympic champion and an eight-time all-star with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, has been detained in Russia since Feb. 17 after police at a Moscow airport said they found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage.
A judge convicted the 31-year-old athlete Thursday of drug possession and smuggling, and sentenced her to nine years in prison. The politically charged case comes amid high tensions between Moscow and Washington over Russia’s military action in Ukraine.
Russia’s lengthy history of deception and political deceit are no secret, but for the Kremlin to be so blatant about their bad-faith negotiations denotes a desperation in Moscow.
