Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner has been sentenced to 9 years in a Russian prison on charges of smuggling drugs into the country.
The Olympic star has been held in custody near Moscow since her February arrest, when officials at a Moscow airport found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.
Before the verdict Griner made one final plea in an emotional speech asking for leniency. Even though she pled guilty to bringing less than 1 gram of cannabis oil into Russia, she says she did so "inadvertently" while "stress packing."
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Griner's final plea
"That's why I pled guilty to my charges. I understand everything that's been said against me, the charges that are against me and that is why I pled guilty but I had no intents to break any Russian laws," Griner said, according to CNN.
“I want the court to understand that this was an honest mistake that I made while rushing, under stress, trying to recover from COVID and just trying to get back to my team,” Griner said, referring to her packing vape cartridges in her luggage on her way to Russia in February.
“I know everybody keeps talking about political pawn and politics, but I hope that is far from this courtroom,” she continued. “I made an honest mistake and I hope that in your ruling, that it doesn’t end my life here.”
Lawyers for the Phoenix Mercury center presented character witnesses from Griner's Russian team and written testimony from a doctor who prescribed Griner cannabis for pain treatment.
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According to Blagovolina Griner only uses cannabis as medicine and only while in Arizona, where medical marijuana is legal.
About an hour after her lawyers and the prosecution presented their closing arguments, the judge read the 31-year-old WNBA star her verdict, which is just one year shy of the 10-year maximum sentence.
In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Griner's lawyer described the verdict as "absolutely unreasonable" and said they will "certainly file an appeal." Her lawyer said they were “very surprised” by the verdict and planned to appeal the case.
“We certainly believe this sentencing does not match the act that was committed,” attorney Maria Blagovolina said. “Moreover, it goes completely against legal precedent related to this statute, taking into consideration the quantity (of cannabis) and Griner’s admission of guilt.”
"We are definitely going to appeal. We certainly disagree, are surprised and disappointed with the Khimki court’s ruling today,” she added.
Griner’s mood following the verdict was “bad” and she was feeling “disheartened," according to her lawyer.
Griner also will be required to pay a $16,300 fine.
During closing arguments, Russian prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Griner to nine years and six months in prison. They also asked that she be fined 1 million rubles, roughly equivalent to $16,600, according to The New York Times.
President Joe Biden spoke on the ruling in a statement calling it "unacceptable."
"Today, American citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney," he said. "It's unacceptable, and I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates. My administration will continue to work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue to bring Brittney and Paul Whelan home safely as soon as possible."
How sports and writing helped Griner battle depression
Griner has previously opened up about being bullied in middle school for her appearance and weight. At the time, she had no outlet and wasn't comfortable talking to her family. This led her to contemplate suicide. She also began to feel extreme anger, causing her to get into more trouble at school.
“I used to get in trouble because I would act out in school, but my parents didn’t know why. They just thought I was being bad. So I would get in trouble. I would act out. All the wrong ways of doing it. So that’s why I share things that I did that were wrong,” Griner said, according to USA Basketball.
Eventually, Griner found her own coping mechanisms by turning to writing and sports.
“It was just a bad time, and I wouldn’t talk to anybody about it either. I didn’t talk to my parents. I didn’t talk to my siblings. I didn’t have a lot of friends back then. I had a couple, but I didn’t talk to them about it either. I used to write, but I would always destroy my writing. I would either burn it or I would just rip it up and throw it away so nobody could see it, because I didn’t want anybody to read what I was writing," Griner continued.
Sports also helped Griner because it allowed her to turn the one thing she was bullied for into an asset. Sports was also another great way for her to release the anger building inside of her. Griner started out playing soccer and volleyball. Finally, in ninth grade, Griner discovered basketball.
What's next for Griner?
The Biden administration is currently working on striking a deal with Russian officials to bring Griner and Paul Whelan, another American imprisoned in the country, home.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Thursday that the Russian court's ruling "spotlights our concerns with the Russian government's use of wrongful detentions."
Last Wednesday, the Biden administration offered a "substantial" deal to Russia to secure their release, the White House confirmed to PEOPLE.
The deal reportedly offers to swap Griner and Whelan for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Russian officials have also asked the U.S. to include a convicted murderer and former Russian spy named Vadim Krasikov, according to CNN.
After Griner's verdict Blinken reiterated that they plan to "do everything we can" to bring Griner and Paul Whelan home "as soon as possible."
Both the White House Press Secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, and a Defense Department spokesperson have said that Russia made this counter-proposal in "bad faith," according to ESPN.
"It's a bad faith attempt to avoid a very serious offer and proposal that the United States has put forward and we urge Russia to take that offer seriously," Defense Department spokesperson John Kirby told CNN on Tuesday.
As of now, Griner’s Russian legal team says they have not been contacted about efforts to facilitate a prisoner exchange.
“Maybe we’ll hear something. I don’t know. It has not been discussed with us,” Blagovolina says.
If you are suffering from thoughts of suicide or depression, call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. Or text HOME to 741-741 to speak with a trained crisis counselor at the free Crisis Text Line.
