Brittney Griner went through a remarkable ordeal after getting convicted in Russia and sentenced to a prison stint, which would have still been going on had it not been for a prisoner swap.
The Atlanta Dream star recently sat down with former NFL quarterback Cam Newton to detail her time in jail, recalling how she was harassed and purposely humiliated, having been stripped in front of several males at one point.
Griner was transferred to a men’s prison before she was handed back to the United States in exchange for the “Merchant of Death” Viktor Bout, claiming Russian authorities used the transfer as another opportunity to violate and dehumanize her.
“I had to get transferred from the penal colony to the men’s prison in Moscow […] Their one little last play to terrorize me or mess with me […] they had me basically stripped down, butt naked in front of a room of like seven to eight men,” she said in her interview with Newton.
“They had the Polaroid and they got me standing in a circle while they [were] taking photos of my tattoos,” she added.
Griner was eventually flown back to the States after spending 10 months in prison and shook hands with Bout during the swap. She joked that she’s never leaving America again after what she went through in Russia.
“In my mind, I’m like ‘I don’t plan on leaving the country ever again,” she said, laughing. “I’m good, we got beaches right at the US of A.”
Brittney Griner Also Details Her Ordeal In 2024 Book
Viktor Bout and Brittney Griner (Photos via Getty Images)
The 10-time All-Star spent the first nine years of her career with the Phoenix Mercury, leading them to a WNBA title in 2014.
A two-time scoring champion, she is averaging 10.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in her first season with the Dream, who are 13-9 following their disappointing 15-25 record last season.
Griner has also detailed her Russian ordeal in a book titled ‘Coming Home,’ which launched in 2024 and outlines her detainment, the toll it took on her, and her eventual release.
The book is her second and follows a 2014 memoir called ‘In My Skin,’ in which she opened up on her struggles with identity and bullying during her journey while becoming one of the most dominant forces in professional women’s basketball.
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