WNBA star Brittney Griner recounts harsh gulag experience in Sundance film

When WNBA star Brittney Griner travelled to Russia in February 2022 to play basketball during the league’s off-season, she could not have imagined the ordeal that awaited her. Upon arriving at a Moscow airport, Russian authorities searched her luggage and discovered a small amount of cannabis oil, which Griner used to manage injury-related pain. In a rush to catch her flight, she had accidentally left the cartridge in her bag.

She was immediately detained by Russian officials, setting off a chain of events that would place her at the centre of a highly charged international and political standoff. Griner’s harrowing experience within Russia’s legal and prison systems is the focus of the new documentary The Brittney Griner Story, which recently premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Brittney Griner during a court appearance in Moscow on August 4, 2022.Photo by KIRILL

Director Alexandria Stapleton explained that the film carefully reconstructs the early moments of Griner’s arrest, from her departure from the United States to her first days in Russian custody. Stapleton said she wanted viewers to fully grasp not only what Griner was feeling, but also the emotional toll on those closest to her, including her wife Cherelle and her agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas, who were scrambling to secure her release.

As the Russia-Ukraine war erupted shortly after Griner’s arrest, the situation became even more dire. According to Stapleton, the growing geopolitical crisis made it feel as though all avenues for freedom were closing rapidly, leaving Griner and her supporters increasingly fearful of what lay ahead.

Brittney Griner with wife Cherelle GrinerLeon Bennett/Getty Images

Those fears proved justified. The documentary strongly suggests that political motivations influenced the severity of Griner’s punishment, with Russian authorities sentencing her to nine years in prison. The film implies the Kremlin viewed Griner as a valuable bargaining chip amid worsening relations with the West following the invasion of Ukraine.

Griner was eventually transferred to a Russian penal colony, commonly referred to as a gulag, where she endured brutal living and working conditions. Reflecting on her incarceration, Griner described the environment as harsh and unforgiving.

She recalled being forced to wake before dawn for daily roll calls, standing outdoors regardless of weather conditions. Guards would manually check off prisoners’ names using paper and wood, rather than modern systems. Griner described standing in snowstorms for so long that snow accumulated on her shoulders and head, forcing her to brush it off just to remain standing.

Inside the prison, she worked in a large-scale sewing operation filled with dangerous machinery. The environment was loud, chaotic, and hazardous, with broken blades and malfunctioning equipment common. Griner noted that many of the women she worked alongside had lost fingers to the machines, a stark reminder of the risks they faced daily.

Beyond documenting her imprisonment, The Brittney Griner Story also traces her life before the arrest, including her basketball journey, coming out to her parents, and her marriage to Cherelle. The film follows the complex diplomatic process that eventually led to her release through a prisoner exchange, as well as the challenges she faced returning to professional basketball.

Griner admitted that rebuilding her physical and mental strength after her release was extremely difficult. She described breaking down in tears in the locker room during her first return to training, struggling to adapt to a body that felt unfamiliar after months of hardship.

Despite the trauma, the documentary highlights her resilience and determination to reclaim her career and sense of self. The Brittney Griner Story is set to air on ESPN at a later date as part of the network’s acclaimed 30 for 30 documentary series.