American basketball center Brittney Griner has signed her first professional contract since returning from Russia with the Phoenix Mercury club, reports USA Today.
Griner's contract with the Arizona club is valid for one year. It should be noted that the 32-year-old center has already played for the team, becoming the 2014 Women's National Basketball Association champion.
On February 17, 2022, the athlete was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport for carrying e-cigarettes with hashish oil, banned in Russia. On August 4 of the same year, the Khimki City Court sentenced the two-time Olympic basketball champion to nine years in prison for possession and smuggling of narcotic drugs or their analogues and a $13,000 fine. On December 8, Griner was released from a Russian prison as a result of an exchange for Russian businessman Viktor Bout, who was serving a 25-year sentence in Illinois' Marion Prison on weapons smuggling charges.