Aces coach Becky Hammon, a former Russian Olympian, has called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to release WNBA star Britney Grenier.
Hamon pleads with Putin to ‘do the right thing’ After Greiner was arrested in February and charged last week with drug smuggling with criminal intent. Hamon was initially arrested at a Moscow airport when officials said they found cannabis oil in her luggage.
Greiner was sentenced to nine years in prison in a Russian criminal colony and a fine of 1 million rubles, equivalent to 16,500 dollars.
“Obviously it’s something that hits me hard near my house and so I’m asking the Russian government to do the right thing,” Hamon told Reuters on Tuesday.
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Hammon was a six-time WNBA star, played professionally both in the WNBA and in Russia and won a bronze medal representing Russia at the 2008 Olympics. She joined Tottenham as an assistant in 2014, and was appointed head coach for the WNBA Aces in 2022.
“It’s never too late to do the right thing. We’re asking for indulgence. We’re asking for grace. We’re asking for BJ to be brought home,” Hamon added.
The US government could play a major role in how long Greiner is serving a nine-year prison sentence in Russia. The United States has been trying hard to negotiate a prisoner exchange in which convicted arms dealer Victor Bout will be sent to Russia, while the Americans will receive Greiner and his American colleague Paul Whelan.
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