By Mark Haynes | Special to The OBSERVER
DAVIS – WNBA superstar Brittney Griner participated in a Q&A at the UC Davis Mondavi Center on Nov. 3, where she discussed her new book, “Coming Home,” which details her experience in a Russian prison.
A large audience quietly awaited Griner’s entrance and greeted her with a thunderous standing ovation as soon as she appeared on stage. UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May moderated, and from start to finish, Griner was candid and detailed.
The evening began with questions about Griner’s sexuality and how difficult it was to make it public while being a basketball star.
“I wish I would have handled it a little bit better,” Griner said. “But it was weird because I told myself I was never going to hide who I was, and I was going to be true to myself. I was kind of hiding and hushing it to try to make it easier for people to see me and my life. It’s something I definitely regret.”
Although Griner regrets how she publicly expressed her private life, something beautiful did blossom over time. She met her wife, Cherelle Griner, at Baylor University, and they now have a son together. Starting a family was always part of their plan, but Griner’s arrest in Russia delayed that special moment. Her imprisonment made her believe that having a family might never happen for her.
In 2022, Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport after security found medically prescribed cannabis oil in the basketball star’s luggage. After pleading guilty in court, she was sentenced to nine years. Griner said pleading guilty was her only option if she wanted a chance at an early release through a prisoner swap.
The following months posed the greatest challenges of Griner’s life. Upon receiving the news of her nine-year sentence, she immediately lost hope of returning home to see her family and loved ones.
“I had to try to forget about my family – not actually forget about them, but I couldn’t think about them every single day because it was too hard,” Griner said. “I had to embrace being an inmate. I told myself you’re an inmate, and that’s what your life is right now, so be the best inmate and stay out of trouble.”
Griner said she was placed in a small cell with two other women for 23 hours a day and was only allowed to be in an outside cell with her cellmates for one hour per day. After a while, Griner was transferred to a detention center, where she would work. Once finished with breakfast, inmates performed “extremely hard work” until sundown. ABC News reported Griner was forced to cut fabric for Russian military uniforms.
After 10 months of incarceration, the one prison worker who spoke English came to Griner and told her to grab her things because she was getting out. The news sounded good, but Griner was skeptical.
“It was difficult,” Griner told the audience about the process of leaving prison, “Because I learned anything was possible there.”
She didn’t end up going home just yet. Griner was moved to Moscow and rebooked into a men’s prison facility. Unaware of what was happening because nobody spoke English, she waited alone in a cell for days before being transported to the airport. That’s when Griner finally knew she was going home.
Since returning to the States, Griner has returned to her winning ways. She and her wife welcomed a healthy baby boy named Bash. Griner wrote her second book and helped Team USA win a gold medal. The three-time gold medalist says she is still healing, and writing this book has been helpful in that process.
Griner shared that she has considered life after basketball, but she’s not done with the game yet. Next year, Griner wants to lead the league in blocks and win Defensive Player of the Year.
As the night ended, the crowd stood and gave her another standing ovation. It was the perfect conclusion to an emotional night that included laughs, tears, and admiration.