Brittney Griner Describes Life Behind Bars As ‘Putin’s Pawn’ in New Book
Brittney Griner, the 6-foot-9-inch WNBA player known for having broken barriers in women’s basketball, including for being the first openly gay athlete to score a Nike deal, recounts the miserable 10 months she spent imprisoned in Russia in her new book Coming Home, which she wrote alongside frequent celeb memoir collaborator Michelle Burford.
On Feb. 17, 2022, Griner was detained in Russia en route to join her team UMMC Ekaterinburg when nearly empty cannabis vape pens were discovered in her luggage. She was held in various Russian jails for 10 months, before escaping the nine-year prison sentence from a Russian court in August 2022. She was ultimately released via prisoner swap, after Russia agreed to her release in exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout in December that year.
Griner’s wife Cherelle Griner, an attorney who had to graduate law school and pass the bar without wife Brittney by her side, championed her release by making public pleas in the media and calling out President Joe Biden for not helping more swiftly (the book describes how Biden warned Cherelle that Putin sees her criticisms of him in the media, which could work to their disadvantage). Two years after reuniting, the couple are now expecting their first child—but Griner hadn’t told the full story of her experience, until now.