Brittney Griner suddenly stands for America

Brittney Griner returned to a Russian courtroom Tuesday and her defense team is claiming she uses marijuana to treat pain. She was caught with marijuana vape cartridge with CBD oils in it at a Moscow airport in February and has since been languishing in a Russian prison. She pleaded guilty to the drug possession charge but said she didn't intentionally break Russia's anti-drug laws. She faces up to ten years in prison.

Griner is one of the tallest WNBA basketball players, standing at 6 feet 9 inches tall.

Griner came to the forefront of public attention in 2020, after she voiced her opposition to the playing of the National Anthem before WNBA games. She and many of her teammates also began kneeling while it was played because Colin Kaepernick, a mediocre NFL football player used the same ploy to try boosting his career.

But Griner also has a spotty past. In 2015 the WNBA suspended her and her ex-wife, Glory Johnson, for seven games after the not-so loving couple got into a domestic dispute. They were both later arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.

In 2020, Griner faced suspension for an on-court brawl she had gotten into, and during the George Floyd riots, she and her teammates refused to take the floor for a preseason game which was eventually canceled.

She had this to say: "I honestly feel we should not play the national anthem during our season. I think we should take that much of a stand." She also said that she "does not believe that the national anthem should be played at sporting events"

But that was then.

Several days prior to Griner's guilty plea, she wrote to our so-called President Joe Biden (D) begging him to use his apparent power to get her butt out of jail and back home where she is free to kneel for the National Anthem once again and beat up on her wife.

In her letter, she wrote in part, “On the 4th of July, our family normally honors the service of those who fought for our freedom, including my father, who is a Vietnam war veteran. It hurts thinking about how I usually celebrate this day because freedom means something completely different to me this year.”

Griner’s defense argued she used  medical marijuana to treat pain from injuries like many other professional athletes. But medical marijuana is against Russian law and Griner should have researched that before traveling there, after all, it isn't as if there exists no pain treatment alternatives.

"With the prescription in place, Brittney may have used it for medical but not recreational purposes," her lawyer Maria Blagovolina said in court, as per Reuters.

Another hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Thursday the U.S. laws legalizing cannabis in some states have no bearing on what happens in Russia. 

"You understand, if drugs are legalized in the United States — in a number of states — and this is done for a long time, and now the whole country will become drug addicted. This does not mean that all other countries are following the same path," Zakharova said.

* * *

 Consider subscribing to Brain Flushings and please check out the ads on these pages. It costs nothing to subscribe and it's worth every penny. And remember, every time you click on an ad, you help in the fight against Communism, ignorance, The New York Times, and the heebie-jeebies.

* * *

Russian media has speculated that Griner could be exchanged for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who is imprisoned in the U.S. Russian authorities have said that no swap could take place until Griner is sentenced.

A Russian court has authorized Griner’s detention until Dec. 20.

Tweet