After Brittney Griner’s arrest at a Moscow airport in February of 2022, few, if any reporters tracked her case as closely as ESPN’s TJ Quinn. Throughout her ten-month confinement, he collected countless behind the scenes details and accounts from dozens of sources who worked tirelessly to win her release from a Russian jail cell. But out of concern for Griner’s safety, much of that information could not be reported. 

Earlier this month, to mark one year since Griner returned home, TJ was finally able to write an exhaustive accounting of the entire ordeal. 

Today, we focus on one part of that reporting –– the long months Griner spent detained, including new specifics on her experience inside a Soviet-era prison colony, the affection she earned from guards and fellow prisoners, and her courageous display of perseverance and psychological endurance.   

Tomorrow, we’ll be back with part two –– inside the painstaking negotiations to get Griner home.

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