Baylor Ex Brittney Griner's Defense Team Presents Case To Russian Court
Former Baylor Bears and current WNBA star Brittney Griner has been in detainment in Russia for over 150 days following an arrest at Sheremetyevo International Airport.
And on Tuesday, herdefense team made its case to a Russian court arguing that she owned a medical prescription for the cannabis oil found in her luggage at a Moscow airport.
"With the prescription in place, Brittney may have used it for medical but not recreational purposes," Griner's lawyer Maria Blagovolina said.
According to reports, Griner used medicinal cannabis to treat chronic pain. Griner's defense team also presented the court with a letter from her doctor as evidence of the prescription nearly two weeks ago.
However, while Griner's team indeed sites a medical prescription, her lawyers also stated that the purpose of the oil being in her luggage was not due to that prescription but because of a simple mistake on Griner's part.
"We are not arguing that Brittney took it here as a medicine. We are still saying that she involuntarily brought it here because she was in a rush," defense attorney Alexander Boykov said. "The Russian public has to know, and the Russian court in the first place has to know, that it was not used for recreational purposes in the United States. It was prescribed by a doctor."
Griner has already pled guilty to carrying the vape cartridges in her luggage at the time of the arrest but declared no criminal intent.
She could spend up to 10 years in a Russian prison if convicted.
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Matt Galatzan the Editor-In-Chief of InsideTheBears.com, TheGroveReport.com, RamDigest.com, AllSeahawks.com, and TexansDaily.com. Galatzan graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry under Mike Fisher at DallasBasketball.com in 2014, which at the time was part of the 247Sports network. He also spent two years covering the SMU Mustangs for PonyStampede.com on the 247Sports network. When DallasBasketball.com and CowboysCountry.com moved over to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, Galatzan followed suit, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com and AllAggies.com a year later. Through the years, Galatzan has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, former Longhorns players Dan Neil and Phil Dawson, and many other recruits, and current/former players for each of the teams he has covered. Galatzan is also a full-time employee in the digital media department for Audacy and KRLD FM's 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, which is the official radio home of the Dallas Cowboys. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels. For any inquiries, please email matt.galatzan@gmail.com