While WNBA star Brittney Griner toils in a Russian penal colony while serving a nine-year sentence over possession of cannabis oil residue, the United States and Russia continue to negotiate her potential release as part of a prisoner swap, though the details surrounding it continues to be murky.
After Russian authorities denied Griner’s appeal last month, she was moved to a maximum security penal colony 200 miles to the west of Moscow with “nightmare conditions.” This has raised the stakes for the U.S. to get Griner back home as soon as possible.
In the meantime, many people around the WNBA and NBA have shown their support for their fellow basketball player. As the Chicago Bulls head to Phoenix, home of Griner’s Phoenix Mercury, rising star Patrick Williams spoke with the Chicago Tribune about the imprisoned WNBA star.
“I can only imagine the things that she’s going through,” Williams told the Tribune after practice Tuesday. “Automatically, whenever we start talking about it as a team, I put my mind in her shoes. It’s just so tough.”
“We’ve definitely got to talk about it,” Williams added. “You’ve just got to pray and hope she makes it out. I think it’s truly unfair. She doesn’t deserve this at all. I’m just praying that she’s staying strong mentally, that she feels the love that we’re trying to give her from over here.”
Many Americans share Williams’ sentiments and it sounds like the U.S. government is doing what it can, given the roadblocks that Russia has put up.
