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Brittney Griner has described what life was like while in a Russian detention facility in the past, but she revealed some horrifying details about what led one of her cellmates to be in prison with her.
Griner made an appearance on Cam Newton’s “Funky Friday” podcast, where the Atlanta Dream star discussed her time incarcerated. During that conversation, Griner explained how inmates were not separated based on the crimes they committed.
So, while she said most inmates were in prison due to murder or drugs, one of her early cellmates was there for a vile reason.
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Atlanta Dream center Brittney Griner (42) grabs a rebound in the third quarter against the New York Liberty at Barclays Center. (Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images)
“I had a cellmate in the very beginning. I thought something was off with her,” Griner said. “She acted like a child, but she was a grown woman, but she very much acted like an adolescent child. And then she had burn marks all over herself, and I found out after the fact that she was selling videos online of her husband and her child — together. And that’s who they had me in a cell with.”
Griner added that the nature of her cellmate’s crimes led others in prison to “torture” her.
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“There’s not a lot of torturing from inmates with girls on the women’s side,” Griner said. “But if you in there for something like that, yeah, you going to get tortured. And they would put their cigarettes out on her and make her sleep at the door, too.”
Griner went on to say how she was “mad” about the prison not being separated by crime, as she didn’t want others to “associate me with that one.”
“I didn’t really sleep at night ‘cause she be over there singing and doing weird stuff at night,” Griner said of the roommate.
WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is escorted from a court room ater a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Aug. 4, 2022. On Thursday, she was freed in exchange for Viktor Bour, a convicted international arms dealer. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
Griner shared details of her harrowing experience last year during a sit-down with ABC News’ “Good Morning America” in 2024.
She had said she believed her “life is over right here” after realizing she left vape cartridges in her luggage at a Russian airport in February 2022. Griner was playing basketball overseas, which is common for WNBA players.
“I was just so scared,” she said in the emotional interview.
Griner was transferred to a Russian penal colony roughly 300 miles outside of Moscow after being sentenced to nine years in prison. She served nearly 10 months of that sentence before being released as part of a prisoner exchange.
“The mattress had a huge blood stain on it. I had no soap, no toilet paper. That was the moment where I just felt less than a human,” Griner noted about the time in prison.
Since returning home, Griner has gained a new perspective on life in the United States, which was on full display at the Paris Olympics in 2024. Griner, who once boycotted the national anthem, was seen emotional about Team USA winning another gold medal in basketball.
Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner (42) questions a call during the first half of a WNBA basketball basketball game against the Dallas Wings in Arlington, Texas, Friday, June 9, 2023. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
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“I didn’t think I would be here,” she said, via Reuters. “And then to be here and winning gold for my country, representing when my country fought for me so hard to even be standing here. This gold medal is going to hold a special place among the other two I was fortunate to win.”
Griner, 34, stars for the Dream now, where she’s averaging 10.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. She is a nine-time All-Star, two-time scoring champion and eight-time blocks leader over her career.
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