WNBA star Brittney Griner to 9 years on drug charges

A Russian court has found Brittney Griner guilty on drug smuggling and possession charges.

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The widely expected verdict comes after a monthlong trial and nearly six months after the basketball star was arrested at a Moscow-area airport with cannabis vape cartridges in her luggage.

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The judge sentenced Griner to nine years in prison.

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Her charges carried up to 10 years, and the Russian prosecution had requested a sentence of nine years and six months in a penal colony.

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In a statement released shortly after the verdict, President Biden called Griner's sentence "one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney."

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Griner's agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, wrote on Twitter that she appreciated the efforts the United States was making to secure the player's release.

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"I made an honest mistake and I hope that in your ruling that it doesn't end my life here," Griner said.

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The Olympian and NBA champion says she must have put the cannabis in her bag by mistake.

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In recent years, she has played for UMMC Ekaterinburg, a Russian team owned by oligarch Iskander Makhmudov.

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