By ReShonda Tate
Originally appeared in Word in Black
Griner talks focusing on mental health, advocacy, and life after detainment in her new book.
Brittney Griner, the perennial WNBA All-Star, is steadily readjusting to everyday life after her release from a Russian prison 17 months ago. However, life for the 6-foot-8 center has undergone significant changes, including the loss of her familiar dreadlocks due to maintenance challenges during her incarceration. Griner now regularly attends therapy sessions to help her cope with the 10-month imprisonment ordeal and is chronicling her journey in a new book, “Coming Home.”
Griner was detained at a Moscow airport in February 2022. Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges containing oil derived from cannabis. Griner, who maintains that she wasn’t trying to sneak drugs into the country as some critics have said, admits that the hate and criticism she received was mindblowing.
“Have you ever forgot your keys in your car?” Griner said in an interview with ABC. “Left your car running? Have you ever, you know, said ‘Where’s my glasses?’ They’re on top of your head. ‘Where’s my phone? Oh, it’s in my pocket.’ It’s just so easy to have a mental lapse. Granted my mental lapse was on a more grand scale, but it doesn’t take away from how that can happen.”
Griner felt extreme guilt over the entire ordeal, and got emotional as she recalled her detainment.
“I could just visualize everything I worked hard for crumbling and just going away,” she recalled.
Griner, who says she contemplated taking her own life, was eventually transferred to a penal colony hundreds of miles outside of Moscow, where she was met with deplorable conditions. For breakfast, she ate porridge that was like cement. For dinner, she ate small pieces of fish that had all the bones in it. There were 50-60 women and one bathroom.
Three toilets. No hot water. A communal sink.
“The mattress had a huge blood stain on it,” Griner said, “and they give you these thin two sheets, so you’re basically laying on bars.”
Her legs, from the middle of her shin, down to her feet, stuck through the bars.
“Which in prison,” she said, “you don’t really want to stick your leg and arm through bars. You know, because someone (could) go up and grab it, break it, twist it, and that’s what was going through my mind.”
Fighting for Detainees
Griner hopes her book will raise awareness about the conditions endured by detainees. She emphasized the need for a clear understanding of these experiences to support ongoing efforts to bring detainees back home, including individuals like Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich.
Since her release, she has emerged as an advocate for the return of other Americans detained overseas. She’s had two meetings with President Joe Biden, including one last month in Phoenix, where they discussed ongoing efforts to bring home detained Americans.
Reflecting on her advocacy work, Griner emphasized the importance of keeping these cases in the public eye to hold government officials accountable and maintain momentum for their release.
Life After Lockup
While she’s promoting the book, she’s staying steadfast on her future plans – which DON’T include playing any more basketball overseas during the WNBA offseason.
Though many WNBA players still play in international leagues to supplement their league salaries, Griner said she is done, except with USA Basketball. She hopes to be on the Olympic team at the Paris Games this summer, and the odds are in her favor that will happen.
“The only time I’ll go overseas is with Team USA,” said Griner, who is expecting her first child with her wife Cherelle. “I need to be in the states. About to be a parent. Last thing I want to do is be in and out of my kid’s life. I want to be there for everything. I don’t want to uproot my family and take them overseas with me. It’s too much.”
The 33-year-old took a mental health break for several days last year during the WNBA season, missing three games. She’ll begin her 12th year in the league May 14 and plans to continue her therapy sessions.
“They are instrumental to my mental health,” Griner said. “Everyone can benefit from having someone to talk to. Someone outside of their every day life. It just helps to have a different perspective on life from someone. That way if you do feel nervous or struggling with something, it’s very beneficial.”
Griner is looking forward to it after the welcome she received in her return last year. One of the only positives that Griner will take away from her ordeal was the outpouring of support she received from people in the form of letters they wrote to her in prison.
“The letters were amazing from the fans, teammates, opponents, GMs, they all meant so much to me,” she said. “It was very dark at times, especially going through the trial. When I was in isolation for weeks, it was an emotional rollercoaster and those letters made me remember that I wasn’t forgotten.”
