Incarcerated WNBA star Brittney Griner received a visit from United States representatives Thursday in Russia, where she’s serving a nine-year sentence on a drug conviction.
Members of the U.S. Embassy met with Griner, whom Russian officials say had vape canisters with cannabis oil inside her luggage when she was arrested in February at a Moscow airport.
“[Embassy members] saw firsthand her tenacity and perseverance despite her present circumstances,” wrote U.S. State Department Spokesman Ned Price in a tweet about Griner on Thursday. “We continue to press for the immediate release of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan and fair treatment for every detained American.”
Griner “is doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
An eight-time WNBA All-Star with the Phoenix Mercury, Griner pleaded guilty in July to possessing the canisters, saying she accidentally packed them.
“I made an honest mistake, and I hope that in your ruling, it doesn’t end my life here,” Griner told a Russian court.
The athlete, who planned to play basketball in Russia during the WNBA offseason, was prescribed cannabis for pain treatment, her legal team contended.
Griner’s nine-year sentence was just shy of the 10-year maximum penalty, and was upheld last month after she appealed. She’s expected to serve about eight years in real time because every day she was detained before her trial is being counted as 1½ days.
President Biden called Griner’s conviction “unacceptable” and said the U.S. made a “substantial proposal” for her and Whelan to be released. Whelan is serving a 16-year espionage sentence in Russia.
Biden hasn’t publicly addressed reports of a proposed prisoner exchange. Earlier this year, the State Department said Griner was being “wrongfully detained.”
The Mercury selected Griner with the first overall pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft. The 6-foot-9 center led Phoenix to a WNBA championship in 2014, and also won a college title with the Baylor Bears and a pair of Olympic gold medals with the U.S. women’s basketball team.
Griner averaged 17.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game in nine WNBA seasons, twice winning defensive player of the year.
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