On Tuesday’s episode of The View, Brittney Griner’s wife, Cherelle, discussed how she’s coping with her partner’s imprisonment in Russia.
“It has been really hard trying to adjust how to live every day,” she told the hosts.
After Griner’s plea to appeal her sentence was denied in a Russian court last week, Cherelle said, “There’s no other way for me to see it except it’s political.”
Since the appeal was refused, Griner will spend nine years in a penal colony.
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She described her wife’s sentence as “just absurd” and “disproportionate” compared to other crimes and their respective punishments in the country.
Asked “what’s next” by the host, Cherelle explained, “There’s nothing more to expect from a legal standpoint.” However, she said viewers can support Griner with words by joining the letter-writing campaign for the athlete, whose mental health is suffering.
“We should be praying that we have a country that recognizes the importance of that and are willing to actually go get our Americans and bring them back home,” she added, noting that she has been in near-constant contact with the State Department.
She added that she is hopeful her wife’s “personality can do her a little bit of favor in keeping her safe” inside the Russian labor camp.
“She loves playing over there and to see that the totality of the circumstances of who she is as a person wasn’t taken into account when they rendered their decision,” Cherelle said. “Her footprint is amazing for Russia. She’s paying taxes there.”
According to her, they have only spoken a few times since Griner’s imprisonment. The last time they spoke, ahead of the appeal, Cherelle said Griner’s mental health was suffering.
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The WNBA athlete initially pleaded guilty in August to bringing cannabis oil vape cartridges through a Moscow airport in February.