Brittney Griner Wishes Wife Cherelle 'Good Luck on the Bar Exam' from Russian Court

Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP/Shutterstock Brittney Griner holds up photos from inside a cage in the courtroom

Brittney Griner is thinking about her loved ones while detained in Russia.

While speaking to ABC News on Tuesday during her hearing for drug charges, 34-year-old Griner had a message for her wife, Cherelle.

"Good luck on the bar exam," Griner said in the message to Cherelle, who graduated from North Carolina Central University School of Law in May. Cherelle started the intensive, two-day exam to become a practicing lawyer Tuesday.

Griner told ABC News that she is "waiting patiently" while in custody but has "no complaints." During the hearing, she held up a sign that included a photograph of her and Cherelle.

The Phoenix Mercury center was arrested at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport in February after officials allegedly found vape cartridges containing hash oil, an illegal substance in Russia, in her luggage.

Griner's trial began on July 1 in Russia, and on July 7 she pleaded guilty to smuggling drugs into the country. According to ABC News, she is expected to testify in court on Wednesday after her initial testimony was delayed at the request of her legal team to provide her with more preperation time.

According to Good Morning America, about 99 percent of those arrested on drug charges in Russia serve a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

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Earlier this month, Griner's lawyers told the court that the Phoenix Mercury center has a doctor's note approving cannabis for pain treatment.

"The attending physician gave Brittney recommendations for the use of medical cannabis. The permission was issued on behalf of the Arizona Department of Health," Maria Blagovolina, one of Griner's attorneys, said during the hearing on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.

RELATED: Brittney Griner's Wife Calls for Her Release Alongside WNBA and Al Sharpton: She's 'an American Hero'

In a statement shared with PEOPLE earlier this month, Brittney's legal team said her guilty plea "was her decision informed by discussion with her legal defense team in Russia."

Because of "the nature of her case, the insignificant amount of the substance and BG's personality and history of positive contributions to global and Russian sport," the team is hopeful that her plea will help the athlete avoid a "severe sentence," her lawyers said.

RELATED VIDEO: Brittney Griner Has Doctor's Letter for 'Use of Medical Cannabis' Russian Court Told Friday

Last week during the 2022 ESPYs, NBA star Stephen Curry, along with WNBA stars Skylar Diggins-Smith and Nneka Ogwumike, asked "the entire global sports community" to "stay energized on [Griner's] behalf."

"Because Brittney isn't just on the Phoenix Mercury, she isn't just on her team in Russia, she isn't just an Olympian," Curry said during the broadcast. "She's one of us, a team of athletes in this room tonight and all over the world. A team that has nothing to do with global conflict."

He continued: "We can not stop fighting for her, we cannot stop believing for her, and we will not stop hoping for the day we can welcome her home safely."