Lawyer: Brittney Griner Not 'Absolutely Convinced' USA Will Be Able to Bring Her Home

Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner is facing a nine-year prison sentence in Russia, and she is reportedly not optimistic about her chances to be freed and return home to the United States.

Griner's lawyer recently provided an update on her condition to Valerie Hopkins and Michael Crowley of Yahoo Sports.

"She is not yet absolutely convinced that America will be able to take her home," Alexander D. Boykov said. "She is very worried about what the price of that will be, and she is afraid that she will have to serve the whole sentence here in Russia."

Boykov said Griner "has not been in as good condition as I could sometimes find her in." The 31-year-old, who has been detained for 238 days, is allowed outside only once per day and spends the rest of her time in a small cell with two cellmates.

"She suffers a lot without her family because she hasn't seen them for so long and it's very difficult to talk to them in any way," Boykov said. He stated that Griner has been unable to speak with her parents or siblings since being detained, and it's also been very difficult to arrange phone calls with her wife, Cherelle.

A Russian court convicted Griner of drug possession charges in August after she was stopped at an airport near Moscow for carrying two vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage in February. At the time, she was on her way to play for UMMC Yekaterinburg, a Russian professional women's basketball team she has represented during WNBA offseasons since 2014.

The United States designated Griner as "wrongfully detained" in May and has maintained that her detention and trial are politically motivated.

Per Hopkins and Crowley, U.S. President Joe Biden said Wednesday that there has been "no movement" with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Griner's case. Biden told CNN on Tuesday that he would only talk to Putin at next month's Group of 20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia, if it's to discuss Griner's situation.

A hearing for the appeal of Griner's conviction is scheduled for Oct. 25. If the appeal is unsuccessful, she could be sent back to the penal colony outside Moscow where she is currently detained, or she could be sent to one of the country's prison camps for women.

Boykov called her nine-year prison sentence an "unprecedented punishment" and said he's hoping it gets reduced.

"Perhaps the verdict will somehow be changed, and perhaps the sentence will be reduced, because the decision taken by the first court is very different from judicial practice," he said. "Considering all the circumstances, taking into account my client's personality traits and her admission of guilt, such a verdict should be absolutely impossible."