Atlanta Dream center Brittney Griner has opened up about the horrific trials and tribulations she endured while locked up in a Russian prison in 2022.
In a candid interview with former NFL MVP Cam Newton, Griner revealed that the Russian prison system intentionally tried to humiliate her, specifically by trading her into a men’s prison in Moscow, where she was repeatedly harassed. The transfer to the Moscow prison was a part of her swap for Viktor Bout, the “Merchant of Death,” but Griner believes the Russians used the transfer as an excuse to harass her further.
“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, via Vibe.com.
“They had the Polaroid and they got me standing in a circle while they [were] taking photos of my tattoos.”
‘Dehumanizing’ Experience
Newton sympathized with Griner, who elaborated on her “dehumanizing” experience in 2022, which saw her being detained for 10 months for smuggling illegal drugs.
“I got picked up in a van by five guys,” she revealed.
“They got the mask on. Big, jacked, swole, like they’re special forces or whatever they were. They take me to an airplane in Moscow, to an airport that I didn’t even know was there […] I get on a plane, we take off, and we land in Dagestan, I think it was, to refuel and then go to Abu Dhabi so I can get switched.”
Griner then recalled shaking hands with “Merchant of Death” and a camera crew documenting their transfer. When she returned home, the 10-time WNBA All-Star joked to herself that she’d never leave the country again.
Griner Scripting Dream’s Turnaround
“In my mind, I’m like ‘I don’t plan on leaving the country ever again,” Griner said with a laugh. “I’m good, we got beaches right at the US of A.”
In her first season with the Atlanta Dream, Griner is averaging 10.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks through 20 games. Her leadership has helped the franchise (13-9) secure the fifth seed in the standings entering the WNBA All-Star break, a year after they finished as the eighth seed with a 15-25 record.
The one player who has benefited the most from Griner’s arrival is franchise star Allisha Gray, who is in the middle of a career-best season. Shortly after being selected for her third All-Star team, Gray credited Griner’s leadership and the new frontcourt of Griner and Brionna Jones for the Dream’s turnaround season.
Dream coach Karl Smesko also credited Griner’s rim protection for the turnaround.
“We have good size that can protect the rim,” Smesko said of Griner leading the frontcourt, via WABE. “So I thought we had the capability of being a good defensive team. Now I will say in my opinion our defense has been inconsistent.
“There are times when we look like we have maybe the best defense in the league. That’s how good we’re playing when we’re all locked into it. And then there’s other times where it looks to me like we’re OK with trading baskets for a while.”
Brittney Griner Was Stripped in Front of ‘7-8 Men’ in Russian Prison