Facing up to ten years in a Russian prison and now seen as a potential political “bargaining chip”, US basketball star Brittney Griner has received touching support in testimonies from her Russian teammates.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist reportedly watched them testify from a locked cage in the corner of the Russian courtroom late last week, and could be seen tearing up and thanking them for coming to her defence.
Griner was arrested February 17 at a Moscow airport, when Russian authorities claimed she had cannabis oil in her luggage and accused Griner of smuggling significant amounts of a narcotic substance. Last week, Griner entered a guilty plea to the drug charges and, in a recent statement, Griner’s legal team said she wants to take full responsibility for her actions and hopes the judge will take that into account ahead of the sentencing.
On Friday, her lawyers told said in court that Griner has been prescribed medical cannabis in the United States, to help with a chronic injury.
An athlete for the US Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), Griner played for the UMMC Ekaterinburg in the Russian Premier League during the WNBA offseason, a common practice for WNBA players who can earn roughly five times more in Russia than they do in the US.
The star athlete had just landed in Russia before being detained on drug charges that could see her face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Her arrest came just days before Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine on February 24 and some speculate that Griner is being used as a hostage for the release of a Russian citizen jailed in the US, though Moscow has denied any political element to the case. The US State Department has labelled Griner as “wrongfully detained” and is negotiating for her release among fallen relations with Russia.
Griner is one of the most dominant WNBA players in history and is seen as a trailblazer and role model after coming out as gay at around the beginning of her professional sport career, making her the first openly gay athlete to be endorsed by Nike.
She is arguably one of the greatest female basketball players of all time and has seen an outpouring of support and calls for her release from Russian prison. Fans and experts have also called out how little attention has been given to her in comparison to male players and say it exposes long standing gender inequities in professional sports. This comes after US authorities and representatives for Brittney Griner were largely silent after her initial arrest.
Nearly 150 days after Griner was first detained and one week after she plead guilty to the drug charges against her, Griner’s Russian teammates have even spoken out to defend her at the third hearing in the trial.
UMMC Ekaterinburg captain Yevgenia Belyakova testified and afterwards told reporters, “Our team is our family. Bad things happen to all of us and it’s very important to be with this person. We need her. She needs us. That’s it.”
Maxim Ryabkov, the UMMC Ekaterinburg club boss, also testified in support of Griner. Although the hearing was closed to reporters, defence lawyer, Maria Blagovolina said Ryabkov told the court of Griner’s “outstanding abilities as a player and personal contribution to strengthening team spirit.”
After the hearing, Ryabkov told reporters, “Our aim was to show what a big role she played in the club, in Russian basketball in general.”
UMMC’s longtime doctor, Anatoly Kalabin, also testified on Griner’s behalf, highlighting that Griner faces constant testing as a high-calibre athlete and, saying he had never seen her fail a test over all the years they’d worked together.
Blagovolina said the defence was pleased with the latest court session on Thursday and that it was an extremely emotional day for Griner, who was touched by the support of her Russian team members.
Ryabkov told reporters, “That is maybe the first time in seven years I have seen her crying and I cannot understand how hard it is for her these recent five months. I hope she’ll fight through it.”
Ryabkov also revealed that the UMMC is actively supporting Griner’s legal defence but is careful in speaking out to the media to avoid any harm to her.
Earlier this month, Griner appealed to Biden, asking him to do everything in his power to secure her return to the US.
In a letter, she wrote, “I still have so much good to do with my freedom that you can help restore.”
“I miss my wife! I miss my family! I miss my teammates! It kills me to know they are suffering so much right now. I am grateful for whatever you can do at this moment to get me home.”
Griner’s legal team expects the trial to conclude near the beginning of August and the Biden administration says it’s working to bring Griner as well as other wrongfully detained Americans home.