With her ongoing struggles to be released from a Russian prison, WNBA star Brittney Griner has to be comforted to know that she is receiving so much support on her behalf not only from her wife but from her Russian teammate and general manager.
UMMC Ekaterinburg teammate Evgeniya Belyakova and Maxim Ryabkov, the team’s general manager, gave character witness statements in Griner’s trial Thursday.
“Our task today was to tell the court about her characteristics as an athlete, as a person — tell about how she played a big role in the success of the Ekaterinburg club and Russian women’s basketball as a whole,” Ryabkov told reporters outside the courthouse. “Today is the first day when we have seen our basketball player since February. Thank God, she feels well, looks good.”
Belyakova said: “I can say that Brittney has always been a very good teammate, so my role here is just to be with her, to support her. We miss her very much. We miss her energy. I was very happy to see her, and I hope this trial will be over soon and with a positive outcome.”
Griner was arrested on drug charges back in February and since then, the US government has been in negotiations for her release. Griner plead guilty to the charges the other day some believe so the US can negotiate a prisoner exchange between the two countries.
{ESPN}
About Stacey Mickles
Stacey is a 1995 graduate of the University of Alabama who has previously worked for other publications such as Sportskeeda and Saturday Down South.