Brittney Griner announces documentary on her 'harrowing, transformative' fight for freedom after being imprisoned in Russia for 10 months on drug smuggling charges

Brittney Griner will open up on her harrowing experience of being detained in Russia for 10 months last year in a new documentary about her life.

Griner was found with a vape cartridge with less than a gram of hash oil while entering the country to play for UMMC Ekaterinburg, which she had done every year since 2014 at that point. 

She was sentenced to nine years in prison on drug smuggling charges, despite being designated as wrongfully detained by the United States government, and lost an appeal for a lesser sentence. 

The 6-foot-7 nine-time WNBA All-Star was later transferred to Russian Penal colony 270 miles southeast of Moscow shortly before her December 2022 release. 

Now, she's ready to tell her story as she's partnered with ESPN and Disney Entertainment to produce the projects. 

A documentary feature and a scripted series are in the works, as well as her first one-on-one interview since her release with Robin Roberts. 

'The last two years have been the most harrowing, transformative and illuminating period of my life, and I am grateful to be in a place now to share my story with the world,' said Brittney Griner via news release.  

'I’m proud to partner with ESPN and Disney to share this very personal story because of its incredible potential to inspire hope around the world and their proven ability to do just that,' Griner continued. 

U.S. President Joe Biden commented on Griner's release last year, as she was considered a 'high-profile' detainee due to her American celebrity status. 

Fears also grew about how Griner's treatment would be skewed as a woman, minority, and member of the LGBTQ+ community. 

'She’s safe, she’s on a plane, she’s on her way home,' Biden said at the White House on December 8, 2022. 

'After months of being unjustly detained in Russia, held under untolerable circumstances, Brittney will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones, and she should have been there all along,' Biden continued. 

'This is a day we’ve worked toward for a long time. We never stopped pushing for her release.' 

Griner's release was secured as part of a prisoner swap with arms dealer Viktor Bout, who had served 10 years of a minimum-25-year sentence prior to his return to Russia. 

Nicknamed the 'Merchant of Death,' Bout was convicted of conspiracy to kill American citizens and officials, among other charges. 

The announcement of the project comes almost on the one-year anniversary of Griner's release from a Russian prison, which is Friday.