Brittney Griner has been party to three legal matters worth knowing about: her 2022 arrest and criminal prosecution in Russia for cannabis oil found in her luggage, a 2015–2016 divorce and child support dispute in Arizona with former wife Glory Johnson, and a 2015 domestic violence case that ended in a diversion program. A widely shared social media claim that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi sued Griner over the Olympics is fabricated, and no such lawsuit exists. Each real case is laid out below.
The Russian Drug Case
On February 17, 2022, Russian customs officers at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow detained Griner after finding vape cartridges containing cannabis-derived oil in her luggage.1ABC News. Timeline of Brittney Griner’s Detention in Russia She was traveling to play for UMMC Ekaterinburg, the Russian club she suited up for during WNBA offseasons.2The Washington Post. Brittney Griner Memoir Coming Home Review The oil had been legally obtained in Arizona, where she held a medical marijuana card, but Russian law classified it as contraband.
Russia’s Federal Customs Service announced the detention publicly on March 5, 2022. The charges carried a maximum sentence of ten years.3ESPN. Brittney Griner Russia Drug Case Her trial opened on July 1, 2022, in Khimki, a Moscow suburb. On July 7 she pleaded guilty, telling the court the cartridges had ended up in her luggage accidentally and that she had no intention of breaking Russian law.1ABC News. Timeline of Brittney Griner’s Detention in Russia Legal observers described the plea as strategic, since Russian drug cases almost always end in conviction.
On August 4, 2022, the Khimki court convicted Griner and sentenced her to nine years in a Russian prison.4Texas Tribune. Brittney Griner Russia Sentence Her defense appealed, arguing the sentence far exceeded the roughly five-year average for comparable possession cases and pointing to her cannabis prescription for pain management. On October 25, 2022, the Moscow Regional Court upheld the nine-year sentence, adjusting only that each day of pre-trial detention would count as 1.5 days served.5PBS NewsHour. Brittney Griner’s Appeal Rejected, Russian Court Upholds 9-Year Sentence Griner appeared by video link from a penal colony.
Parallel to the criminal case, the U.S. State Department classified Griner as “wrongfully detained” on May 3, 2022, moving her case to the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs.6The New York Times. Brittney Griner Detained WNBA7ESPN. US Reclassifies WNBA Star Brittney Griner as Wrongfully Detained in Russia The designation meant the U.S. would negotiate her return rather than wait on the Russian courts.
The Prisoner Exchange
Griner was released on December 8, 2022, roughly ten months after her arrest, in a one-for-one swap for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. The exchange took place on the tarmac of an Abu Dhabi airport, where private planes carrying each prisoner met.8The Guardian. Brittney Griner Released in US-Russia Prisoner Swap for Viktor Bout Bout, a former Soviet lieutenant colonel nicknamed the “Merchant of Death,” had been serving a 25-year federal sentence following a 2011 conviction that included conspiracy to kill Americans. President Biden signed the order commuting Bout’s sentence to make the swap possible.9BBC. Brittney Griner Released in Russian Prisoner Swap
The deal did not include Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine held in Russia since 2018 on espionage charges the U.S. government called baseless. Republican lawmakers criticized the exclusion. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russia had presented the administration with a binary choice: “The choice was one or none.”10PBS NewsHour. Griner Release Right Choice, Say Family of American Left Behind in Russian Prisoner Swap
The Glory Johnson Divorce and Child Support Fight
Griner’s other significant legal matter played out in Maricopa County, Arizona, and it began before the marriage did. On April 22, 2015, she and fellow WNBA player Glory Johnson were arrested after a physical altercation at their Arizona home. Police called it “mutual combat,” and the WNBA suspended both players for seven games.11ESPN. Brittney Griner Files Papers Seeking to Annul Marriage to Glory Johnson Griner pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct and completed a domestic violence diversion program with 26 weeks of counseling; the charge was cleared from her record in January 2016.12AZ Central. Brittney Griner, Former Wife Glory Johnson Spar Over Child Support Johnson’s assault charge was dropped after she pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct in November 2015.13USA Today. Brittney Griner, Glory Johnson Marriage, Split, Domestic Violence
The two married on May 8, 2015. Twenty-eight days later, on June 5, Griner filed for annulment, alleging duress and fraud; she later amended the petition to cite Johnson’s extramarital communications and a sexual relationship with a man during their dating period.13USA Today. Brittney Griner, Glory Johnson Marriage, Split, Domestic Violence In August 2015, a Maricopa County judge refused to annul the marriage, finding no legal basis, but allowed the case to proceed as a divorce.14Swish Appeal. Brittney Griner Files an Annulment to End Marriage With Glory Johnson At the same hearing, the court denied Johnson’s request for $20,000 a month in spousal support and $10,000 in attorney fees.12AZ Central. Brittney Griner, Former Wife Glory Johnson Spar Over Child Support
The dispute intensified when Johnson gave birth to twin daughters, Ava Simone and Solei Diem, conceived through in vitro fertilization during the marriage. Griner had no biological connection to the children, but their conception during the marriage put legal parentage in play, and the court ordered DNA testing in February 2016. Johnson sought $6,000 a month in child support. Griner had been paying $2,665.81 a month. At an April 2016 hearing, Judge Timothy Thomason of Maricopa County Superior Court set a reasonable amount at $2,516.97 a month.12AZ Central. Brittney Griner, Former Wife Glory Johnson Spar Over Child Support Later that month, Griner agreed to pay child support.15Women’s Hoops World. Brittney Griner Agrees to Pay Child Support to Glory Johnson
The Pam Bondi Lawsuit Claim Is Fabricated
A social media claim in August 2025 said U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi had sued Griner and won a ruling that kept her out of the Olympics. It is false. Searches of PACER, Google Scholar Case Law, and Court Listener returned no record of any legal action between Bondi and Griner, and no credible news outlet has reported one.16Yahoo News. Fact Check: Pam Bondi Did Not Sue Brittney Griner
The story originated in an August 14, 2025, post from a Facebook page called “Today in America.” It was internally impossible: the post referenced blocking Griner from the “2025 Paris Olympic Games,” but the Paris Olympics ran July 26 to August 11, 2024, and Griner competed and won gold.16Yahoo News. Fact Check: Pam Bondi Did Not Sue Brittney Griner The post also substituted look-alike characters from other alphabets for standard English letters to slip past automated moderation.
According to Facebook’s page transparency information, “Today in America” is run from Vietnam, and its listed contact number traces to a California nail salon rather than any newsroom.16Yahoo News. Fact Check: Pam Bondi Did Not Sue Brittney Griner The page belongs to a broader network that manufactures stories on divisive topics to drive traffic to ad-supported blogs and has produced hundreds of similar posts.17Yahoo News. Fact Check: Rumors Spread About WNBA
Where Things Stand
Since returning to the United States, Griner has resumed her WNBA career and joined Bring Our Families Home, a campaign organized by families of Americans held or wrongfully detained abroad.18Biography.com. Brittney Griner Returns to Basketball After Detention She won her third Olympic gold with Team USA in Paris on August 11, 2024, in a 67-66 final over France at Bercy Arena, her first trip outside the United States since her release.19Time. Brittney Griner Wept at the Paris Olympics No further criminal or civil litigation involving Griner has been reported.