WNBA star Brittney Griner pleads guilty to controversial drug trafficking charges in Russia News
© WikiMedia (Lorie Shaull)
WNBA star Brittney Griner pleads guilty to controversial drug trafficking charges in Russia

Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty Thursday to drug trafficking in Khimki Russia amid accusations that she was wrongfully detained in the country. According to Russian state news agency TASS, Griner admitted her guilt but stated there was no intent to smuggle the drugs into the country. Griner is accused of smuggling hashish oil into Russia and was detained at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow.

The United States government has classified Griner as “wrongfully detained,” meaning there are ongoing negotiations for her safe return to the US. TASS reports there is a potential prisoner exchange on the negotiating table: exchanging Viktor Bout, detained for weapons sales in the US, for Griner. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has urged patience in response to the potential exchange.

Griner’s wife spoke with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris about safely returning Griner to the US. Biden promised to do what he could to bring Brittney and other wrongfully detained American prisoners home from Russia. The Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNPBA), the WNBA players’ union, also expressed its support for Griner.

Griner is a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and some have speculated that her harsh treatment has been due to Russia’s homophobic government policies. Ernest Owens, Editor at Large of Philadelphia magazine and CEO of Ernest Media Empire, LLC, wrote in an op-ed for the Grio that:

Much has been said on social media about Russia’s problematic history of disinformation, racism and downright hate for America. But its ongoing legacy of anti-LGBTQ sentiment isn’t to be taken lightly in this case. Russian President Vladimir Putin has made it a point to prioritize a “gay propaganda” agenda during his reign that has equated homosexuality with pedophilia and has jailed queer activists. Given that Griner is out and proud, married to her partner and has embraced a gender non-conforming presentation—being detained in a country whose leader has called gender fluidity “a crime against humanity” should alarm us all. 

Griner is facing a maximum sentence of ten years in prison. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 14.

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