After nearly being locked up for about 10 months in Russia we can officially say that Brittney Griner is coming home. She was recently exchanged for a Russian Arms Dealer here in the United States of America that was serving his time here. The charges she was accounted for were possessing and smuggling illegal drugs when coming into Russia.

On February 17, 2022, Brittney Griner was arrested at the Sheremetyevo- A.S. Pushkin International Airport on suspicion of drugs being obtained in her luggage. She was detained by the police after being caught with hash oil vape cartridges in her luggage bags. Within the time stamp of her being locked up and fighting for her freedom to be released from Russia, social media platforms here in America were going crazy. Mainly on Instagram, a variety of posts would come along arguing about if she deserves to be freed or not. Her situation sparked the nation of this country and would continue to do so when her first trial began on July 1st of this year. During the time of this trial, her wife Cherelle Griner spoke at a rally about how she felt considering this situation. Cherelle Griner clarified that “ I’m very frustrated that 140 days have passed since my wife has been able to speak to me, to our family, and to her friends. I’m frustrated that my wife is not going to get justice. I know you all are frustrated too, that’s why you’re here. This could easily be any one of us. So tonight, I ask for your help in continuing to fight for BG’s safe and quick return home.” Brittany’s wife is constantly reminiscing about what needs to be done in order to get Brittany back safe and sound. So she doesn’t end up losing her soulmate. 6 days later, she pleads guilty to all the drug charges she was tried for. Her guilty plea talked about how she accidentally brought hash oil into Russia and did not attend on breaking the law.

Coming into the 4th day of August, Judge Anna Sotnikova finalized the sentence punishment for Britney Griner giving her a 9-year sentence. Even with the verdict being added to Brittney Griner’s case her lawyers still wanted to take the appeal route. Nine days later in her appeal route, her lawyers (Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov) made it clear that: “The sentence was excessive and that in similar cases, defendants have received an average of five years, with about a third of them granted patrol.” Then turning around on the 25th of October, the Russian court rejected her appeal and would not do any prisoner exchange negotiations till November 8th after the election midterms. On the 25th of November, there was small talk about how it was possible that the USA would hand over Viktor Bout the Russian Arms- Dealer in exchange for Brittney Griner. But a spokesperson from the State Department made it very clear “ We are not going to comment on the specifics of any proposals other than to say that we have made a substantial offer that the Russian Federation has consistently failed to negotiate in good faith,” the statement said. “The U.S. Government has continued to follow up on that offer and propose alternative potential ways forward with the Russian government. The Russian government’s failure to seriously negotiate on these issues in the established channel or any other channel runs counter to its public statements.” Until today on December 8, Brittney Griner was 100% freed from Russia and is expected to be back home with her wife within the next 24 hours. Now that Britney Griner is finally free she is able to see her family again and perhaps make an entrance back into the WNBA.