WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was arrested at a Moscow airport in 2022 for possessing an illegal marijuana cartridge, claims she was “mentally deranged” because she forgot to remove the cartridge before being searched.
Greiner served 10 months in prison for possessing cannabis cartridges, which are illegal in Russia, and was released in a prisoner swap with notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout.
In a partially released interview with ABC’s Robin Roberts, Greiner was asked how he would respond to people who don’t believe they can forget that they had illegal marijuana cartridges in their luggage. Ta.
Brittney Greiner watches the second half of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game between the University Huskies and the Iowa Hawkeyes at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on April 5, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
“I say, ‘Have you ever forgotten your keys in your car and left it running?’ My glasses are on my head and I ask where they are. Do you have it? Where’s my phone? Oh, it’s in my pocket.’ It’s very easy to have a mental breakdown,” Greiner said. Said.
“Sure, my mental lapse was on a much larger scale, but I don’t have to wonder how it happened.”
Roberts also questioned Greiner’s mental state while Russian authorities searched for him.
Women’s Basketball Association (WNBA) basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport and later charged with illegal possession of marijuana, appears in court in the Moscow suburb of Khimki on August 4, 2022. After receiving the verdict, they leave the courtroom. (KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP) (Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)
“All the things I’m not going to see. I’m thinking about my wife,” she said. “If I think about what my family will think, I wonder what public opinion will think. All I have to do now is look at the headlines and see everything I’ve worked so hard for come crashing down.
“And to be in a place where there’s no understanding. In the United States, we can clearly explain what happened and how it happened. We never meant to do something like this. This was a mistake. It was an accident. I understand that there is an impact from the accident, but there is nothing like that.
Further excerpts from the interview will be published on Wednesday. Greiner is in his 11th year with the Phoenix Mercury.
