WNBA star Brittney Griner has always been open about her traumatic experience in Russia, but her latest revelation on Cam Newton’s podcast painted the most disturbing picture yet. As she is in her 13th season in the league, Griner sat down to relive the gut-wrenching moments of her 2022 imprisonment and eventual prisoner swap, including a deeply dehumanizing episode during her transfer.
“The trade took a little minute to happen, too, on my end. I had to get transferred from the penal colony to a men’s prison in Moscow, and I got checked into there. I knew I was getting traded, but the way they were treating me, their one little last play to terrorize me or mess with me.”
“Because they were checking me in, they had me stripped down, butt naked, in front of a room like probably 7 to 8 men, and they had the Polaroid and had me spinning in a circle, while they were taking the photos right, of my tattos because my tattos are whatever they are. That was last little addict to mess with me.”
Griner had already endured the brutal conditions of Russia’s IK-2 penal colony, infamous for its labor, harsh climate, and limited access to basic hygiene. But just before her release in a high-profile prisoner exchange, Russian authorities subjected her to one final act of humiliation.
In what she described as a deliberate psychological play, Griner was transferred to a men’s prison in Moscow, a location she believes was never meant to hold her, but rather to rattle her spirit one last time.
It was an experience she compared to being turned into an object, a powerless figure caught in a display meant to break her. It wasn’t about protocol. It was about control, shame, and inflicting psychological damage just before she walked free.
Griner was eventually taken from the prison by a group of masked Russian operatives and driven to a secret airfield, one that, according to her, doesn’t appear on maps. She was flown to Abu Dhabi for the final leg of the swap, where she would be exchanged for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in a deal brokered by the Biden administration.
Even during the flight, the cruelty didn’t stop. The masked men taunted her, made remarks about her sexuality, and seemed determined to remind her that she’d been under their thumb until the very last second. Still, Griner maintained her resolve, knowing that home and freedom were finally within reach.
Griner’s story is a reminder that her return to basketball wasn’t just a comeback story; it was survival. Her strength in recounting these moments not only sheds light on the conditions she faced but also reinforces why her voice continues to matter, far beyond the court.
