by Iman Milner
December 9, 2023
The six-time WNBA All-Star was arrested at a Moscow airport in 2022 and detained for months.
WNBA star Brittney Griner has inked a massive deal with ABC, and its parent company Disney, to produce three separate projects that will tell the story of her detainment in a Russian prison. Her wife, Cherelle Griner, will also serve as an executive producer on the projects, Variety reports.
The entertainment giant will tell the athlete’s story via a documentary, a scripted series as well as in an exclusive interview with ABC News anchor Robin Roberts. The anticipated first-person account slated for ESPN Films will detail “the circumstances that led to her playing outside the U.S. despite being one of the best players in the sport to her harrowing detainment and the unwavering determination to secure her freedom, as well as her subsequent advocacy for the release of other wrongful detainees,” and will use “exclusive footage, recordings and letters to and from Griner during her time in prison.”
There is no word on the scope of the scripted series; however, Griner’s resolve will be a thread throughout all three, according to Variety.
“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,” Griner said. “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.”
The six-time WNBA All-Star was arrested at a Moscow airport in 2022 and detained for months. She would later be sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison for possession of marijuana but would later be released in a one-for-one swap for arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Griner made her official return to basketball on May and recorded 18 points in the Phoenix Mercury’s loss to the Los Angeles Sparks and went on to be named the Comeback Player of the Year by the Associated Press.
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