On Thursday, US basketball star Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison in Russia for smuggling cannabis-infused vape cartridges into the country, a verdict that was deemed “unacceptable” by US Vice President Joe Biden.
After the ruling, police led Griner out of the courtroom in handcuffs, and he turned to reporters and said, “I love my family.” Two-time Olympic gold medalist and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) superstar Brittney Griner was arrested in mid-February as she prepared to play for a Russian side in the WNBA off-season.
U.S.-Russian relations have hit a new low since the Cold War thanks in large part to her case, which was triggered when Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24.
Who Is “Brittney Yevette”?
American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) Brittney Yevette Griner (born October 18, 1990) is currently serving time in a Russian prison. At Baylor University in Waco, Texas, she was a member of the women’s basketball team. She’s the only player in NCAA history with 2,000 points and 500 blocks.
The three-time All-American was recognized as the 2012 AP Player of the Year and Final Four Most Outstanding Player. Griner is one of only eleven women in history to win gold at the Olympics, the NCAA tournament, the FIBA World Cup, and the Women’s National Basketball Association.
Griner was ranked as the best high school female basketball player in the country by Rivals.com in 2009. She was chosen to play basketball for the 2009 Phoenix Mercury All-American team. She won the ESPY for best female athlete in 2012. Griner became a Nike endorsee in 2013. Griner has an arm span of 87.5 inches and wears a men’s U.S. size 17 shoe. He is 6 feet, 9 inches (206 cm) tall (222 cm).
Early Life.
The daughter of Raymond and Sandra Griner, Griner was born in Houston. Her dad served in Vietnam in the Marines in 1968 and ’69 and is a retired sheriff from Harris County. She is the youngest of four siblings. Griner went to high school at Houston’s Nimitz. She started out on the varsity volleyball team as a freshman and went on to earn several letters in basketball throughout high school.
Griner started working with a Nimitz football coach to increase her leg strength during her sophomore year so that she could learn to dunk during practices with the boys’ basketball team. A video of her dunks went viral during her junior year, garnering over 6.6 million views on YouTube and landing her a meeting with Shaquille O’Neal.
Career.
Griner participated in collegiate hoops for the Baylor Bears at Waco, Texas. Griner’s 223 blocks as a freshman were the most ever in a season, making her one of the best shot blockers in women’s basketball history. Griner scored 34 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and blocked a Big 12 Conference record 11 shots on December 16, 2009, to notch Baylor’s first triple-double.
She made the second and third dunks of her college career in a lopsided 99–18 victory against Texas State University in January of 2010. She was only the seventh player to dunk during a women’s college basketball game.
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Personal Life.
Griner made her sexual orientation clear to the public in an interview with SI.com published on February 11, 2013. During the interview she also admitted that she had been bullied as a child, saying, ” “I know, it’s tough. Just getting singled out and teased because of who you are. Everything to do with my size, my sexuality, etc.
” She wants to raise awareness about bullying, especially against LGBT people, by working with children, and she is very excited about this opportunity. Griner’s father did not take her coming out as gay well, so she spent her senior year of high school living with an assistant coach for six weeks. In My Skin: My Life On and Off the Basketball Court, her memoir co-written with Sue Hovey, was published in 2014 and deals with bullying and self-acceptance.
USA Basketball Tweeted Their Displeasure.
The life of convicted arms trafficker Viktor Bout inspired the 2005 Hollywood film “Lord of War,” starring Nicholas Cage. One source familiar with the situation claimed that Washington was willing to exchange Bout.
Officials from Russia have denied that an agreement has been reached. They claim that Griner, or “BG” as he is known by basketball fans, broke the law and should be punished for it.
USA Basketball tweeted their displeasure with Thursday’s ruling and their intention to continue working with the US State Department to bring Griner home. We will not rest until BG is home with her family, friends, and supporters in the United States.
Read More: Brittney Griner Net Worth: Why Was She Arrested?
The WNBA’s Cathy Engelbert and The NBA’s Adam Silver.
Both the WNBA’s Cathy Engelbert and the NBA’s Adam Silver, in a joint statement, called Griner’s conviction “unjustified and unfortunate.” At the hearing, Griner sported a grey T-shirt and round frames. Prior to entering the defendant’s cage, she proudly displayed a photo of her Russian UMMC Ekaterinburg team.
Griner testified last week that she was perplexed by the appearance of vape cartridges in her luggage as she prepared to fly to Russia with UMMC Ekaterinburg for the playoffs.
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