*LeBron James says WNBA player Brittney Griner should reconsider returning to the US once she is released from a Russian prison.
Griner has been detained in Russia since February on accusations of smuggling cannabis oil, which is illegal in the country. She has officially been classified as “wrongfully detained,” a US State Department official told CNN in May.
“The Department of State has determined that the Russian Federation has wrongfully detained U.S. citizen Brittney Griner,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.
White House officials claim they are working to secure her release.
READ MORE: Brittney Griner Pleads Guilty to Drug Smuggling Charges in Russia
An ad for an upcoming episode of LeBron’s show, “The Shop,” shows the NBA star weighing in on Griner’s legal crisis in the country. On Thursday, she pleaded guilty to the drug smuggling charges and now faces 10 years in Russian prison.
“Now, how can she feel like America has her back?” James asks, rhetorically, in the episode, The Daily Mail reports. “I would be feeling like “Do I even want to go back to America?””
Griner sent a letter to President Joe Biden in which she expressed fear that she may never be able to leave the country.
“…as I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever,” she wrote earlier this month.
“On the 4th of July, our family normally honors the service of those who fought for our freedom, including my father who is a Vietnam War Veteran,’ she continued. ‘It hurts thinking about how I usually celebrate this day because freedom means something completely different to me this year.
“I realize you are dealing with so much, but please don’t forget about me and the other American Detainees,’ Griner wrote. ‘Please do all you can to bring us home. I voted for the first time in 2020 and I voted for you.
“I believe in you. I still have so much good to do with my freedom that you can help restore. I miss my wife! I miss my family! I miss my teammates! It kills me to know they are suffering so much right now. I am grateful for whatever you can do at this moment to get me home.”
Griner’s arrest at Sheremetyevo airport came a week before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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