Brittney Griner: Reactions from the sports world to the conviction

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Brittney Griner held up a photo of her Russian team for the cameras ahead of the verdict

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EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA / AFP

Only a few hours after US basketball star Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison by a Russian court, her team Mercury Phoenix had to play the next league game.

The WNBA game at the Connecticut Sun was all about solidarity with Griner.

Before the game, the players of both teams lined up in the center circle, linked their arms and, following Griner's number, were silent for 42 seconds.

Tears came to some.

Then they called "Bring her home."

"None of us actually wanted to play today," explained Griner's teammate Skylar Diggins-Smith.

»How can you approach the game with a clear head?

All of us cried before the game.«

Teammate Diamond DeShields said after the game, "It's like waiting for a bomb to go off.

That's what it feels like to see them behind bars.” The Mercury lost the game to the Sun 64-77.

Male basketball players also reacted, albeit initially in manageable numbers.

"What's really happening to our queen?" wrote NBA star Kyrie Irving on Twitter.

He directed the question to US President Joe Biden and his deputy Kamala Harris.

"Please give us an update," Irving wished.

NBA player Isaiah Thomas tweeted, "God be with her," former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins demanded, "Bring BG home!"

Even before the conviction, superstar LeBron James had accused the US government of not having done more for Griner.

"How can she feel like America is behind her now?" James said weeks ago in a trailer for his talk show.

The NBA and WNBA issued a statement calling the conviction "wrongful."

Many teams share this point of view.

Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison on Thursday for illegal drug possession.

She was also fined one million rubles (16,000 euros).

The American has been playing in Russia for years when she is not playing in the USA, where female basketball players can earn significantly more money than in the USA.

In February, she was arrested upon entry and hemp oil was found in her luggage.

The case has occupied US and Russian diplomats for months.

US President Joe Biden called the conviction "unacceptable".

kjo/dpa/sid