Griner has previously kneeled for the National Anthem and demanded the WNBA remove American flags from basketball arenasWNBA basketball player Brittney Griner was sentenced to 9 years in a Russian prison on drug possession and smuggling charges today after she pleaded guilty to a Russian court last month. Griner was arrested in February when entering Russia to play for a women’s basketball team after authorities found THC vape cartridges in her luggage. While the cartridges are legal in some parts of the United States, marijuana is strictly prohibited under Russian drug laws