Brittney Griner details Russian captivity in upcoming memoir

WNBA star Brittney Griner is writing a memoir detailing her experiences as a prisoner in Russia and its impact on her life. Alfred A. Knopf will publish the book set for release in the spring of 2024.

Griner was arrested in a Moscow airport on Feb. 17, 2022, over drug smuggling charges after Russian officials found less than a gram of hash oil in her luggage. The eight-time WNBA All-Star had flown to the country to play for UMMC Ekaterinburg, a Russian women’s team she’s played for since 2014. Griner was detained and then imprisoned for 10 months until the U.S. government agreed to release Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in exchange for her freedom this past December.

“I arrived in Moscow to rejoin the UMMC Ekaterinburg basketball team and was immediately detained at the airport,” Griner said in a statement. “That day was the beginning of an unfathomable period in my life which only now am I ready to share. The primary reason I traveled back to Russia for work that day was because I wanted to make my wife, family, and teammates proud.”

Griner’s untitled memoir will also detail equal pay issues facing women’s athletes in the U.S., which led her to play in Russia during WNBA offseasons. She also intends for the book to raise awareness for other American citizens detained overseas.

The Mercury re-signed Griner this offseason to a one-year deal worth $165,100. The 32-year-old previously authored a book, “In My Skin: My Life On and Off the Basketball Court,” published in 2014.