"My parents taught maine 2 important things," Brittney told the tribunal done tears pursuing closing arguments connected Aug. 4. "Take ownership for your responsibilities and enactment hard for everything that you have. That's wherefore I plead blameworthy to my charges. I recognize the charges against me. I had nary intent to interruption immoderate Russian laws. I privation the courts to recognize it was an honorable mistake." 

She continued, "I ne'er meant to wounded anybody. I ne'er meant to interruption immoderate Russian laws. I made an honorable mistake and I anticipation that successful your ruling that it doesn't extremity my beingness here." 

Brittney had antecedently testified that she was legally prescribed aesculapian marijuana by a doctor in the United States. She said she was going done airdrome information erstwhile a subordinate of unit asked her to unfastened her bag, which led to the find of the cartridges, per NBC News. After signing documents that she wasn't capable to recognize without Google Translate, the hoops subordinate was capable to telephone a lawyer earlier her telephone was confiscated.  

"At that constituent it felt similar I was being held against my will," she said, according to the outlet. "I asked again what's going connected and erstwhile tin I spot my lawyer. I was past told I person to beryllium interrogated." 

Brittney's ineligible team later told E! News successful a statement that they were "very disappointed" by the court's decision and planned to record an appeal. 

"As ineligible professionals, we judge that the tribunal should beryllium just to everyone careless of nationality," they shared. "The tribunal wholly ignored each the grounds of the defense, and astir importantly, the blameworthy plea. This contradicts the existing ineligible practice. Taking into relationship the magnitude of the substance (not to notation the defects of the expertise) and the plea, the verdict is perfectly unreasonable. We volition surely record an appeal." 

Biden also shared his disappointment. "Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney," helium said successful a statement. "It's unacceptable, and I telephone connected Russia to merchandise her instantly truthful she tin beryllium with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates." 

The president kept successful interaction with Brittney and wrote her a letter shortly after the jock sent an unfastened missive to the White House, which arrived connected July 4.  

During a July 28 property conference, Secretary of State Antony Blinken shared that the medication had "put a important connection connected the array weeks agone to facilitate" the merchandise of Brittney and Whelan, per NBC News. "Our governments person communicated repeatedly and straight connected that proposal, and I'll usage the speech to travel up personally and, I hope, determination america toward a resolution." 

Throughout her clip successful prison, Brittney has received steadfast support from her woman Cherelle arsenic good arsenic fellow athletes including Stephen Curry, Megan Rapinoe and more.  

"I person to locomotion the good enactment of harm versus assistance erstwhile it comes to my woman close now," Cherelle told CBS Mornings on July 5. "So, arsenic overmuch arsenic I privation to advocator for her and propulsion for our governments to bash everything, I besides person to instrumentality into relationship that she's successful a presumption wherever she could beryllium harmed also, by immoderate and everything I do, and so, it's a bladed enactment to walk."