WNBA star Brittney Griner has been found guilty of drug charges and sentenced to 9 years in prison by a Russian court. WNBA Player's Union boss Terri Jackson is devastated.
"We are just hoping and praying that the compassion and mercy that we've been calling for really comes to fruition in this final verdict, " said Jackson before the sentencing.
Russian prosecutors had wanted a 10-year-sentence. Griner pled guilty to drug charges and has been jailed in Russia since February after Russian authorities claim they found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. The Phoenix Mercury player plead guilty to drug charges in an effort to gain leniency. She is at the center of a proposed "prisoner swap" that the White House is trying to negotiate that involves a Russian arms dealer jailed in the U.S.