“They Had Me Stripped Down Infront of 7-8 Men”: Brittney Griner Talks About the Infamous ‘Prison Swap’ on Cam Newton’s Show

Brittney Griner is about to begin her 13th season in the WNBAthough it shouldve been her 14th.

Still, considering all shes been through, the fact that shes back on the court at all is remarkable.

Things couldve turned out very differently had the U.S.

government not negotiated a prisoner exchange.

If not for that deal, Griner might still be languishing in a Russian prison, her freedom and her basketball career both slowly fading away.Griner recently opened up about that harrowing ordeal on Cam Newtons podcast, recounting the day the swap finally took place.

It was anything but easy or fast.To start the process, Russian authorities transferred her from IK-2, the infamous womens penal colony, to a holding location for the exchange.

Shockingly, that stopover turned out to be a mens prison in Moscow.

But Griner was willing to endure anything at that point if it meant tasting freedom again.The Russians didnt miss an opportunity to remind her who had the power.

As part of the intake process, they forced her to strip in front of a group of men, supposedly for a security check.

It was a deliberate act of dehumanization, something Griner described as feeling like being turned into a circus animal.

They examined her body and took pictures, further humiliating her before allowing the process to continue.The trade took a little minute to happen, too, on my end.

I had to get transferred from the penal colony to a mens prison in Moscow, and I got checked into there.

I knew I was getting traded, but the way they were treating me, their one little last play to terrorize me or mess with me.

Because they were checking me in, they had me stripped down, butt naked, in front of a room like probably 7 to 8 men, and they had Polaroid and had me spinning in a circle, while they were taking the photos.Eventually, a group of masked men, possibly Russian special forces, arrived to transport her.

They loaded her into a van and drove her to an airfield that doesnt officially exist on any map.

From there, she was flown to Abu Dhabi for the exchange.Even on the flight, the torment continued.

The masked men mocked her, including making comments about her sexuality.

But Griner stayed focused, knowing she was inching closer to home.

She turned down food during the flight, afraid that even at this stage, they might try to poison her.

For her, paranoia and fear were impossible to shake.When they landed in Abu Dhabi, her heart lifted.

She could see an American plane waiting nearby.

That sight brought the first real moment of peace.

A U.S.

official approached and calmly explained how the exchange would unfold.Then came the moment Griner had waited for.

As she walked off the Russian aircraft, the prisoner being held by the U.S., arms dealer Viktor Bout, emerged from the American plane.

They briefly shook hands and exchanged a few words, each wishing the other well, before heading their separate ways.Griner was finally in American custody.

But before heading home, she made one final stop to meet the Abu Dhabi officials who helped broker the deal.

It was there, during that brief pause, that Brittney silently vowed never to leave the U.S.

again.Even after boarding the American plane, safety didnt feel real until the wheels touched down on U.S.

soil.

Only then could she truly breathe.So, who was the Russian prisoner that Russia wanted to release Griner?The Russians swapped Brittney Griner for their notorious arms dealer, Victor BoutDespite the torment Brittney Griner endured and the trauma she survived, many Americans opposed the prisoner swap that secured her freedom.

Some critics voiced their opposition due to racism, misogyny, or homophobia.

Others, however, raised more legitimate concerns, chief among them the identity of the man the U.S.

exchanged for Griner: Victor Bout.So, who is Viktor Bout? Often referred to as the Merchant of Death, Bout is an infamous international arms trafficker who played a major role in fueling some of the worlds most violent conflicts.

U.S.

authorities arrested him in 2008 during a sting operation in Thailand and later extradited him to the United States.A Manhattan jury convicted him of conspiring to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons, including over 20,000 AK-47 rifles and surface-to-air missiles to Marxist rebels in Colombia.

A U.S.

court sentenced him to 25 years in prison for plotting to kill Americans and aiding terrorist organizations.Many also criticized the deal because it did not include Paul Whelan, a U.S.

Marine veteran who has been imprisoned in Russia since 2018 on espionage charges.

Critics argued that Whelan, who has maintained his innocence, should have been part of the swap, and that the U.S.

gave up too much to bring Griner home.In the end, while the deal brought one American back, it also reignited debate over international diplomacy, justice and and who gets priority in high-stakes negotiations.The post They Had Me Stripped Down Infront of 7-8 Men: Brittney Griner Talks About the Infamous Prison Swap on Cam Newtons Show appeared first on The SportsRush..

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