Hi, I'm Lester Holt with a special preview of my new podcast, Before and After. In our latest episode, I sit down with Brittney Griner, the WNBA All-Star who spent 10 months detained in Russia after airport security found vape cartridges in her luggage. Brittney tells me what those months were really like and why coming home brought a different kind of reckoning. Can you describe to me what that first jail was like and what you encountered?
The first jail I went to, so they put me in a room by myself. I had no water, no clean water. I had no toothbrush. I had no soap. I had nothing, no toilet paper, nothing. So I had to take a shirt And I ripped up the shirt on, like, the ragged part of the bar so I could cut it and rip it. And one part of the shirt was to wash me with, and then 2 other rags were to use when I had to use the bathroom and things like that to clean myself. It was the most disgusting I've ever felt in my life. I felt— I felt like I wasn't even a human. It was— it was tough. It was dirty. It was dirty. Mattress, just bloodstains on the mattress, stains that I don't even know what they were.
It was hell. There were rumors that began to circulate that maybe a deal was in the works. Did you know of all the activities going on back here in the United States to secure your release?
After talking with my lawyers, you know, I heard some things were going on. I didn't know everything.
After 293 days, you were told you were leaving.
Mm-hmm.
Did you know that you were part of a prisoner swap with this Victor Bout, who was an arms dealer?
Not at first. I mean, I didn't really know too much about him except for he used to be an arms dealer, and Nicolas Cage, I think, had played him in a movie. The deal sucks and makes us look like suckers.
Brittney Griner back on American soil, but her freedom coming with a big cost.
I still don't understand how I got labeled as un-American or I hate America. It was infuriating a little bit. So it's just wild.
Thanks for listening. Search Before and After with Lester Holt to hear the full episode now.
Hey, Dateline fans. Here’s a special preview of the fifth episode of our new podcast series, Before & After with Lester Holt.In this episode, WNBA star Brittney Griner talks about her six-month detention in a Russian prison, the isolation of captivity, and the complicated experience of returning home.Search Before & After with Lester Holt to listen to the full episode now, completely free. Or subscribe to Dateline Premium on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or DatelinePremium.com. Subscribers get early access to new episodes and can listen to all Dateline podcasts ad-free. swap.fm/l/bapfd Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.