Karine Jean-Pierre: U.S. Officials Met With Brittney Griner in Russia
U.S. diplomats have met Thursday with WNBA star Brittney Griner, who’s imprisoned in Russia, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.“We are told she’s doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances,” Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One, CNN reports.
The State Department also confirmed that officials from the U.S. Embassy in Russia had a meeting with Griner. They had spoken with her October 16 but hadn’t seen her in person since August.State Department spokesman Ned Price tweeted that in the Thursday visit, diplomats “saw firsthand her tenacity and perseverance despite her present circumstances.” Griner, a lesbian who is center for the Phoenix Mercury, was arrested at an airport near Moscow in February as she arrived to play for a Russian team during the WNBA off-season.
Many athletes in the league join overseas teams when the WNBA isn’t playing. Russian officials found that she had vape cartridges containing a small amount of cannabis oil, which is an illegal substance in the nation.This summer, Griner was convicted on drug charges and sentenced to nine years in prison.
She has said she brought the substance, which she uses for relief for chronic pain, into Russia by accident and didn’t intend to break the law.
