Brittney Griner, the two-time U.S. Olympic basketball gold medalist, has pleaded guilty to drug charges in a Russian court near Moscow, her lawyers said on Thursday.
The professional athlete, whom the U.S. State Department has classified as wrongfully detained, faces up to 10 years in prison under the charges. The Phoenix Mercury player's supporters have called for her release over fears that she is being used as a political pawn amid Russia's war on Ukraine.
Brittney Griner's Guilty Plea
The defendant's lawyers expect the Russian court to take into account the 31-year-old athlete's guilty plea and hope for leniency, said Alexander Boykov and Maria Blagovolina. The former added that samples taken from Griner did not show any traces of drugs, saying that she was clean and had been properly tested.
Griner's Russian legal team said the guilty plea was her decision, adding that the athlete "sets an example of being brave." The lawyers' statement read that the basketball star decided to take full responsibility for her actions because she knows she is a role model for many people, according to CNN.
The defense team added that considering the nature of Griner's case, the insignificant amount of the substance and the defendant's personality and history of positive contributions to global and Russian sport would allow the plea to be considered by the court as a mitigating factor and that there will be no severe sentence.
Griner left the Russian courtroom on Thursday without giving any comment to reporters as her next hearing is scheduled for July 14. The basketball star was arrested in February at a Moscow airport after Russian officials said they discovered cannabis oil in her luggage. This has led the athlete to be detained on drug smuggling charges as her trial began last week.
According to CBS Sports, despite pleading guilty, Griner noted in a statement she read before the judge that there was no intent to break Russian law. "I'd like to plead guilty, your honor. But there was no intent. I didn't want to break the lawn," said the defendant.
Drug Charges
The acting director of the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute in Washington, William Pomeranz, who is also an expert on Russian law, said that traditionally, the best defense is to admit your guilt and hope you get a lesser sentence. He added that there were a lot of examples of people raising strong defenses and getting acquitted.
Despite the serious nature of the charges against Griner, an official admission of guilt was her best option in both the short and long term. This is primarily due to the nature of the Russian legal system, which means there is essentially zero chance she would be acquitted.
The situation comes as the Women's National Basketball Association athlete's wife had requested the United States government to help her get released. Her team had also shown their support of the athlete by holding a "Bring BG Home" rally at the WNBA team's Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix on Wednesday, People reported.
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