According to Brittney Griner, she considered suicide multiple times while she was imprisoned in a Russian prison cell.
In a lengthy interview that aired on Wednesday night, the WNBA standout revealed to ABC News’s Robin Roberts that she had these ideas shortly after being arrested by Russian officials in February 2022 for putting vape cartridges in her luggage at a Moscow airport.
“I wanted to take my life more than once in the first weeks,” stated Griner. “I felt like leaving here so badly.”
However, the 33-year-old admitted to Roberts that she chose not to follow through because she was afraid her body would not be returned to her family.
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She remarked, “I can’t put them through that.” “I have to endure this.”
Griner revealed to Roberts that she had to endure terrible living circumstances while incarcerated, including a large blood stain on her mattress and a lack of soap and toilet paper in the restrooms.
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She continued by saying that she was once forced to write a letter pleading for pardon and “thanks from their so-called great leader,” Vladimir Putin, by Russian authorities.
“I didn’t want to do it,” she stated, “but at the same time, I want to come home.”
As you are aware, after a drawn-out trial, Griner was given a nine-year prison sentence in Russia for narcotics offenses in August 2022. In the end, she was transferred to a prison colony in Mordovia, where she was made to labor and cut cloth for military personnel.
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However, in exchange for Griner’s release in December 2022, the United States consented to send Russia’s convicted arms dealer, Viktor Bout.
Griner said to Roberts that she felt guilty about everything and that she had “let everybody down.”
However, after landing back in the United States, Griner has turned into a supporter of people who are unjustly held abroad. She and her spouse, Cherelle, are also expecting their first child together.
Regarding her basketball career, she is still going strong in the WNBA and will begin play with the Phoenix Mercury later this month for her next season.
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