By Nick Selbe “Today’s verdict and sentencing is unjustified and unfortunate, but not unexpected.” On Thursday, Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony for smuggling drugs with criminal intent, and fined 1 million rubles, which is about $16,500. Following the ruling, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and NBA commissioner Adam Silver issued a joint statement expressing their disappointment in the decision. “Today’s verdict and sentencing is unjustified and unfortunate, but not unexpected and Brittney Griner remains wrongly detained,” the statement read. “The WNBA a…