In a special edition of “20/20”, with Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts, WNBA star Brittney Griner shared her 10-month detainment in a Russian prison.
Ahead of the release of her memoir, Coming Home, she recounted her time in a Russian prison for most of 2022sharing new details about the Feb. 2022 arrest at a Russian airport.
Brittney Griner was emotional recounting her detainment in Russia. pic.twitter.com/3xXE2SozmI
— ESPN (@espn) May 2, 2024
In the exclusive interview with Roberts, on 20/20, Griner, 33, realized the moment she had taken a cartridge with cannabis oil through the airport just outside of Moscow.
On Wednesday, she recalled her time in the prison, describing the cold, moldy conditions and having to use toothpaste that had expired.
Griner shared when Roberts asked how she dealt with the feelings of letting down her family, friends, and fans
“I don’t think I really got through it all the way, at the end of the day, it’s my fault, and I let everybody down.”
Griner’s detainment started on Feb. 17, 2022, after officials allegedly found vape cartridges containing hash oil, leading to her arrest on drug smuggling charges. Initially sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison.
She was released in December 2022 as part of a prisoner swap, with Russia getting Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer known as “the merchant of death.”
Her upcoming memoir, Coming Home, will detail her “raw, emotional” experience of Russian detainment for 10 months and how the global #WeAreBG movement supported her at the time.
The text will bring light to unheard aspects of Griner’s “stark” living conditions and the “terrifying aspects” of day-to-day life in a foreign prison.
