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Friday, April 26, 2024

‘Gentle soul’ Griner’s fate on USA minds at basketball World Cup: coach

US basketball star Brittney Griner is in a Russian jail

SYDNEY: Coach Cheryl Reeve admitted Wednesday the fate of “gentle soul” Brittney Griner was weighing heavily on the USA team at the basketball World Cup in Sydney and the jailed star’s number 15 jersey would not be worn at the tournament.

Griner, a standout when they won gold at the Tokyo Olympics last year, would normally be with the squad as they attempt to claim a fourth straight title and 11th overall, starting Thursday against Belgium.

But the 31-year-old is instead in a Russian prison, sentenced to nine years in a penal colony after being arrested at a Moscow airport in February for possessing vape cartridges with a small amount of cannabis oil.

Reeve said Griner would…

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