Brittney Griner Sentenced to 9 Years in Russian Prison on Drug Possession Charges

WNBA star Brittney Griner has been sentenced to 9 years in a Russian prison, on charges of smuggling drugs into the country.

Griner's lawyers said, in a statement shared with PEOPLE, that the verdict, just below the maximum sentence of 10 years, is "absolutely unreasonable" and said they will "certainly file an appeal."

A Russian judge read Griner, 31, her verdict Thursday about an hour after her lawyers and the prosecution presented their closing arguments. The Phoenix Mercury star had given an emotional speech, reiterating her stance that though she pled guilty to bringing less than 1 gram of cannabis oil into Russia, she did so "inadvertently" and asked the court for leniency.