“Had No Intent” To Break Russian Law

Brittney Griner gave a key statement in her trial just ahead of the verdict in her drug case being handed down later today. The Phoenix Mercury star pleaded for leniency in her closing statement. “I want to say again that I had no intent on breaking any Russian laws. I had no intent. I did not conspire or plan to commit this crime,” Griner shared in the courtroom. 

Griner apologized to both her WNBA and Russian teams along with her fans. Griner, 31, expressed her desire for any political discussions surrounding her case not to play a factor. She said she hopes any talk about politics and her being used as a “political pawn” is kept far from the courtroom. She said she made “an honest mistake,” adding “I hope in your ruling it does not end my life.”

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The American Basketball star faces up to 10 years in prison on the charge of large-scale transportation of drugs. Griner plead guilty in July in an effort to gain leniency after having under a gram of cannabis oil in her luggage when she was arrested at the airport in Moscow back in February.

Russian prosecutors are asking for Griner to be sentenced to nine-and-a-half years in prison.

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