‘One of the weakest moments of my life’: Cherelle Griner, Wife of WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner Posts Statement Concerning Her Detainment in Russia

Brittney Griner’s wife is pleading for her release from a Russian jail where she has been held for at least three weeks after being arrested at a Moscow airport on suspicion of possessing a vape pen filled with hash oil.

Thank you to everyone who has reached out to me regarding my wife’s safe return from Russia. Your prayers and support are greatly appreciated. I love my wife wholeheartedly, so this message comes during one of the weakest moments of my life. I understand that many of you have grown to love BG over the years and have concerns and want details. Please honor our privacy as we continue to work on getting my wife home safely.

Thank you!

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Griner, 31, was detained last month while flying in to play for her Russian basketball team during the WNBA offseason, but there has been no confirmed date of when she was arrested. Her last communication was on February 5 when she posted a photo to Instagram of her and her Phoenix Mercury teammates. 

Now Russia might use Griner as leverage as she faces up to 10 years in prison on the drug smuggling charge.

‘If we want her out of jail, Russia is going to have some terms,’ Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia and Ukraine Evelyn Farkas told Yahoo Sports. ‘It could be a prisoner swap. They also could use it as an implicit threat or blackmail to get us to do something or not do something. Either way, they find it useful.’