Brittney Griner Sends Message While Celebrating Her Birthday in Prison

Brittney Griner is spending her 32^nd birthday away from her family and friends. 

The WNBA star—who is currently serving a nine-year prison sentence in Russia on drug charges—sent a message to her supporters as she celebrates another year around the sun alone.

“Thank you everyone for fighting so hard to get me home,” the athlete said in a statement through her lawyer Maria Blagovolina, per CNN. “All the support and love are definitely helping me.”

Griner’s message comes eight months after the Phoenix Mercury center—who plays for a Russian basketball team during the WNBA off-season—was arrested when authorities discovered vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage at the Sheremetyevo Airport near Moscow.

After being detained for months, on Aug. 4, a Russian court found Griner guilty of drug possession and smuggling, finding that she committed the crime deliberately. She was sentenced to nine years in prison, and she received a 1 million ruble fine ($16,000) for the drug charges.