In a new interview that will be shown on May 1 as part of a special episode of 20/20, Brittney Griner will reveal for the very first time the specifics of her detention in Russia.
The WNBA star, who is 33 years old, has already responded to inquiries on her detention; nevertheless, she has not yet consented to a sit-down interview regarding the ten-month odyssey, which started when she was detained for carrying vape cartridges containing cannabis oil at a Moscow airport in February 2022 and has continued till the present day.
Robin Roberts, the presenter of Good Morning America, is taken on a sorrowful journey through Griner’s time in the Russian jail in a new video that was shared exclusively with PEOPLE on Tuesday. Griner also reveals what her life was like when she was incarcerated within the facility.
During the course of the interview, viewers will be taken on a journey through Griner’s whole experience, beginning with her arrest in February 2022 and continuing through her nine-year jail sentence, as well as her time spent in prison and her release on December 8, 2022.
Griner also offers an emotive perspective on the hardships she endured when she was incarcerated in Russia’s notorious prison colony. She characterizes these conditions as making her feel “less than a human.”
Roberts is informed by the former WNBA Champion and nine-time All Star that she struggled with suicide thoughts. She describes a terrifying scenario in which she had a knife in her possession. Roberts is informed by Griner that her mattress in jail “had a huge blood stain on it” and that she “had no soap, no toilet paper.”
As she puts it, “That was the moment when I simply felt like I was less than a human being.”
Griner tells Roberts at another moment in the conversation when she is talking about her nine-year jail term. She is wiping away tears as she recounts how she felt when the punishment was handed down. “I was just so scared for everything,” she says.
As a result of a prisoner swap that took place in December 2022, Griner, who had won two gold medals at the Olympics for Team USA, was finally released. Through this exchange, the United States was able to liberate Russian weapons trader Viktor Bout. She then went back to basketball in May of 2023 to resume her career in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) with the Phoenix Mercury. Later that season, she went on to make her tenth participation in the WNBA All-Star game.
Coming Home, Griner’s book on her time spent in detention in Russia, is scheduled to be released on May 7th. Griner is also getting ready for the publishing of her memoir.
According to ABC News, the one-hour show that will appear on 20/20 and be titled “Prisoner in Russia: The Brittney Griner Interview” will also include interviews with Griner’s wife Cherelle Griner, her agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas, and Roger Carstens, who is the show Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs.
On May 1, at ten o’clock Eastern Time, the special will be shown, and it will be made available to watch on Hulu the next day. This coming Wednesday morning, as part of Good Morning America, viewers will get their first glance of Griner’s interview.