The Brittney Griner Story review: We are all BG in powerful doc

When WNBA superstar Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison in 2022, other pro basketball players, friends, and family began wearing shirts emblazoned with "We Are BG," hoping to make Americans realize that her struggles are our struggles. Watching the documentary The Brittney Griner Story, I understood that slogan better than ever.

The Brittney Griner Story chronicles Griner's saga of being detained in Russia for accidentally traveling with two mostly-empty THC cartridges, her unfair trial, her imprisonment, and the fight of her wife, Cherelle, to bring her home.

Griner speaks about her awkward childhood, when she was bullied for being a tomboy, having a low voice, and her athletic build. She also speaks of one fateful day in middle school when her friend asked her if she could dunk. She grabbed a ball and did it, causing the basketball coach to recruit her immediately. A legend was born.

Soon, Griner was a star high school player, going viral for her dunks, a world-class star at Baylor, and then drafted into the WNBA, where she continued her dominance.

Much like another sports doc that premiered at Sundance this year, Give Me the Ball!, about tennis star Billie Jean King, this movie perfectly weaves together sports and social issues. In The Brittney Griner Story, Griner and other WNBA stars talk about how they have to play overseas in the off-season because a WNBA rookie salary is around one percent of an NBA rookie salary.

Griner had been playing professionally in Russia for years, winning multiple championships, when she was arrested. However, instead of her status in the country being a benefit, her position as a queer Black American woman made her a target for Putin. Over the next 293 days, Griner was in a freezing Russian prison as her wife fought to free her and other wrongfully detained Americans overseas.

What's truly special about The Brittney Griner Story is that at its center, it's a love story. Not only does Griner love her family and love basketball, but her relationship with her wife, Cherelle, forms the emotional heart of the movie.

Going back to when they first met in college at Baylor and hid their relationship, to when they broke up, then chronicling them getting back together and getting married, The Brittney Griner Story is also the Cherelle Griner story. When Griner was detained, Cherelle started advocating not just for her own wife's release, but for the release of other Americans detained overseas.

It was she who put pressure on then-President Biden to eventually make a deal to bring Brittney home.

Director Alexandria Stapleton brings us right into the Griners' relationship, with up-close, personal interviews as the issues unfold. We get direct access to BG and Cherelle's emotions, hopes, and fears as they played out.

Unfortunately, now the documentary is frightfully more relevant, as the conditions Griner faced in Russia are the same ones detainees are facing in ICE detention centers right now. Hearing about Griner being denied legal aid, communication, and basic necessities was like reading about Alligator Alcatraz.

Stapleton said that while filming the movie in 2022, she thought it showed the differences between the American justice system and the corrupt one in Russia. Now, she says it shows more similarities.

The Brittney Griner Story is a masterclass in documentary making, combining sports, social issues, and a beautiful Black queer love story into an entertaining and ultimately moving film.

Out Review: 5 out of 5 stars.