6-foot-9 Brittney Griner forced in 'VERY SMALL CAGE' for five-hour, round-trip drive to court

Brittney Griner's wife Cherelle 'distraught' after BLUNDER botches call to WNBA star in Russia

Brittney has been in Russia’s detention since February for allegedly smuggling cannabis oil in her luggage. She was charged with drug-smuggling, and if found guilty, can face a decade behind bars. However, Elizabeth Rood, US charge d’affaires in Moscow, has reportedly said: “The Russian Federation has wrongfully detained Brittney Griner. The practice of wrongful detention is unacceptable wherever it occurs and is a threat to the safety of everyone traveling, working, and living abroad.”

On the other hand, Russian officials have refuted such accusations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “The facts are that the famous athlete was detained in possession of prohibited medication containing narcotic substances. In view of what I’ve said, it can’t be politically motivated.”

Also, Russian state media has speculated that the US might be considering releasing Victor Bout – a Russian jailed in America – in exchange for the two-time Olympic gold medalist. Bout is a businessman as well as an arms dealer, who was given 25 years behind bars in 2012 “for attempting to sell millions of dollars in weapons to Colombian terrorists who were targeting Americans,” ABC News reported.

Attorney General Eric Holder had said at the time: “Today, one of the world's most prolific arms dealers is being held accountable for his sordid past. Viktor Bout's arms trafficking activity and support of armed conflicts have been a source of concern around the globe for decades.”

Meanwhile, in Brittney’s case, Cherelle reportedly wants President Joe Biden to push for more. The couple were supposed to talk to each other on the phone through the US embassy in Russia. But since it was the weekend of Juneteenth and employees were on holiday, the call did not happen. Slamming the government, Cherelle said: “I find it unacceptable and I have zero trust in our government right now. If I can’t trust you to catch a Saturday call outside of business hours, how can I trust you to actually be negotiating on my wife’s behalf to come home? Because that’s a much bigger task than to catch a Saturday call.”

She added: “It’s really, really difficult. This is not a situation where the rhetoric is matching the action. I do have to unfortunately push people to make sure that the things they’re telling me is also matching their actions and so it’s been the hardest thing to balance because I can’t let up. It’s over 130 days and BG’s still not back.”