The situation of WNBA star Brittney Griner has not improved. Recently, the Russian court sentenced her to 9 years in prison because of illegal drug possession. A lot of people in the country and around the world showed their disappointment in the sentencing. And reports suggested that the United States will look to bring her back home with a possible prisoner swap. But many felt that giving one of the biggest arms dealers in the world back to Russia is not a good idea.

Now, new reports coming out are suggesting that Griner’s legal team has appealed the Russian court’s verdict that sentenced her to 9 years in prison on drug smuggling charges. She was arrested in February at Moscow?s Sheremetyevo Airport after vape canisters containing cannabis oil were found in her luggage. However, the U.S. State Department considers her wrongfully detained. Griner played for a women’s basketball team in Yekaterinburg, Russia’s fourth-largest city,?during the WNBA offseason.

But the grounds of the appeal made Monday are not clear. But her lawyers said that the sentence was excessive after the conviction. And said that defendants with similar cases received an average sentence of around 5 years. They also mentioned that a third of them received parole.

Celebrities show support for Brittney Griner

So far, Brittney Griner and her legal team have maintained that she did not intend to break the Russian laws. Griner admitted that she packed the canisters accidentally in a hurry. Her lawyers also mentioned that a doctor prescribed it as a treatment for her pain relief. While cannabis is legal in most states of the country, that is definitely not the case outside the nation. And Griner had to learn it the hard way.

After her sentencing, many celebrities have shown their support for the two-time Olympic Gold medalist. Recently, rapper and actor, Fredro Starr, gave his honest take on the whole ordeal during a recent interview. He said that the Phoenix Center was caught up in a political battle. However, he is not the first one to suggest that she is a political pawn.

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Earlier, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal also suggested something similar. He and his co-host Nischelle Turner said that they would really want Griner back home. And they said that it was a very difficult situation for her and her family.

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Another rapper, Boosie Badazz, called out Vice President Kamala Harris after the sentencing of Griner. He said that Kamala Harris as a black woman should be on the frontline to bring back another black woman. The rapper also claimed that things would have moved swiftly if it was Taylor Swift detained in Russia.