Brittney Griner Declines Basketball

PHOENIX, ARIZONA - OCTOBER 10: Brittney Griner #42 of the Phoenix Mercury prepares for game 1 of the WNBA Finals at Footprint Center on October 10, 2021 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Mike Mattina/Getty Images)

Brittney Griner reportedly made a tough decision in prison.

The WNBA star has been sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison on drug charges. Griner, who was playing overseas in Russia, was arrested at the airport when drugs were allegedly found in her backpack.

While the United States government is attempting to bring her home via a prisoner trade, Russia does not appear to be anxious to get something done.

According to ESPN's T.J. Quinn, Griner's lawyers offered to bring her a basketball in prison, though she reportedly declined the offer.

"I asked Griner's lawyer if she's had an opportunity to play basketball since she was detained. She said the jail has a hoop, but no ball. When Griner's lawyers offered to bring one, BG declined, saying it was too painful to think about," he reported.  READ MORE...

Brittney Griner's Fears

The WNBA star Brittney Griner was convicted of drug smuggling and sentenced to nine years in Russian prison after customs agents found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage in February.

Griner's team has appealed the decision, but if she's not included in a prisoner swap between the US and Russia, the WNBA All-Star will likely serve her sentence at a penal colony.

As her detention has dragged on, Griner has grown increasingly fearful of the "miserable or inhumane conditions" she could face if and when her appeal is denied, her lawyer told The New York Times.

Here's what we know about Russian penal colonies and what Griner's experience could look like.

Russian penal colonies are prison-labor camps that are essentially the remnants of the Soviet Union's infamous Gulag system.  READ MORE...