Technique that shone in Russian basketball calls for Griner's freedom

A top US women's basketball coach who represented Russia at the Olympics has called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to “do the right thing” and quickly release US star Britney Greene.

Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Harmon, who played for years in Russia and won an Olympic bronze medal for her home country, said seeing a member of the women's basketball community imprisoned for nearly six months makes her feel very depressed. . Washington says Greener was unjustly detained in Russia.

“It's obviously very close to my heart, so I'm asking the Russian government to do the right thing. It’s never too late to do the right thing,” Harmon told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday (3) in which she shared with the world Other women’s basketball figures made a joint plea. “We ask for leniency. We ask for grace. We ask that BG [Brittney Griner] be brought home.”

Greener, a two-time Olympic champion and center for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, is scheduled to return to a Russian court on Thursday to conclude arguments for her trial. She was detained at Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport on February 17 with an e-cigarette cartridge containing cannabis oil in her luggage and faces up to 10 years in prison for drug possession.

She was preparing to join the Russian team during a holiday in the US, and the arrest came just days before Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, sending relations between Moscow and Washington to an all-time low. Geopolitical tug of war.

Moscow said no agreement had been reached. A trade is unlikely until a verdict in Griner's trial is reached, but could happen in the coming days.