On the highest step of the Olympic podium, US basketball player Brittney Griner wept, tears trickling down her face as her country's national anthem serenaded her for a gold medal she could not have imagined winning while in a Russian prison.
Staley watched Griner grow from a first-overall WNBA draft pick in 2013 to one of the dominant forces in the league and an American superstar who collected two World Cup golds on top of her Olympic titles.
A Russian court sentenced US basketball star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison on Thursday after finding her guilty of deliberately bringing cannabis-infused vape cartridges into Russia, a ruling that President Joe Biden called "unacceptable."
US basketball player Brittney Griner teared up during her first news conference after being detained in Russia for nearly 10-months.
Griner's lawyer Alexander Boykov told reporters they were hoping for the most lenient sentencing possible.
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Brittney Griner's life is bubbling. This 23-year-old basketball star player is used to the spotlight but these days it has increasingly exceeded.
WNBA concerned over Brittney Griner situation
US WNBA All-Star Griner's detention in Russia extended
A Russian court on Tuesday dismissed US WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner's appeal against a nine-year sentence for possessing and smuggling vape cartridges containing cannabis oil, paving the way for her to be sent to a penal colony, in a court case that Washington has called "sham".
Biden, while not ruling out the meeting Putin at G20 meet, said that there are conditions attached.
The Tokyo Olympics produced many, many, many emotional moments for the athletes and their coaches...
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