WNBA

The Biden administration has been trying for months to negotiate the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner and another American jailed in Russia, Michigan corporate security executive Paul Whelan, including through a possible prisoner swap with Moscow.

The WNBA star has been placed at Female Penal Colony IK-2 in Yavas, which is in the region of Mordovia – the same area where American Paul Whelan is being held, according to Reuters.

A penal colony is a common type of Russian prison where detainees work for minimal pay.

Asked if Brittney Griner could be freed as part of a prisoners swap with Washington, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a conference call with reporters that "we always say that any contacts about possible exchanges can only be conducted in silence under a tight lid on any information."

The Moscow region court also ruled that Brittney Griner’s sentence will be recalculated to around eight years in prison, after taking her time in pre-trial detention into account.

Cherelle Griner said that her wife, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who was playing in Russia during the WNBA offseason, is afraid of being forgotten by the United States.

Brittney Griner’s highly publicized legal woes in Russia and the country’s invasion of Ukraine has the top WNBA players opting to take their talents elsewhere this offseason.

Gray went 9 of 13 from the floor, and was named Finals MVP after averaging 18.3 points in the series.

Lawyers for American basketball star Brittney Griner on Monday filed an appeal against her nine-year Russian prison sentence for drug possession.

Asked at the White House Friday about the prospects of securing Brittney Griner’s release, President Joe Biden said: “I’m hopeful ... We’re working hard.”

Brittney Griner reacted with little emotion. Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden denounced the verdict and sentence as “unacceptable.”