Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner is set to release a memoir about her experience of being arrested and incarcerated in Russia.
Griner, 32, who was headed back to Russia to join UMMC Ekaterinburg, the professional team she played for there, was detained for nearly 10 months, most of which was spent in prison. She was eventually released in a prisoner exchange with Russia in December 2022.
The book, scheduled for release in spring 2024, will detail Griner’s wrongful detainment in Moscow in February 2022, when she was charged with drug smuggling and possession after vape cartridges containing cannabis oil were found in her luggage.
She shared an Instagram post on Tuesday with a lengthy message expressing her hope that her memoir would raise awareness of other Americans detained overseas.
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In her previous book, In My Skin: My Life On and Off the Basketball Court, published in 2014, Griner opened up about her struggles with bullying and being a gay athlete.
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Griner is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, three-time All-American at Baylor University, and a prominent advocate for pay equity for women athletes. She is also the first openly gay athlete to reach an endorsement deal with Nike.
Griner’s memoir is currently untitled and will eventually be published in a young adult edition.
Griner’s memoir comes at a time when the detention of Americans overseas has become a topic of concern. In her statement, Griner mentioned other Americans detained overseas, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested in Russia last month and accused of espionage, businessman Kai Li serving a 10-year sentence in China on charges of revealing state secrets to the FBI, and Paul Whelan, a corporate security executive imprisoned in Russia on spying charges.
