Brittney Griner Contemplated Suicide While In Russian Prison

Superstar WNBA player Brittney Griner has disclosed that she thought about killing herself while incarcerated in Russia.

Recall that in August 2022, after a trial, the WNBA star was given a nine-year term to serve in a Russian jail for drug offences.

After everything, she was transferred to a prison colony in Mordovia, where she was made to labour and cut cloth for the military personnel.

Griner’s release was contingent upon the United States sending Viktor Bout, a Russian arms trader who had been convicted, in December 2022.

In a lengthy interview with ABC News’ Robin Roberts, Griner stated that the ideas first entered her head shortly after she was arrested by Russian officials in February 2022 for putting vape cartridges in her luggage at a Moscow airport.

Read Also: American Basketball Star Brittney Griner moved to a penal colony in Russia

“I wanted to take my life more than once in the first weeks,” Griner said. “I felt like leaving here so badly.”

However, the 33-year-old admitted to Roberts that she chose not to proceed because she was afraid her body would not be returned to her family. She remarked, “I can’t put them through that.” “I have to put up with this.”

Griner told Roberts that her living circumstances in prison were appalling and that there was little to no soap and toilet paper in the restrooms. She also revealed that her mattress had a large smear of blood on it.

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 want to go home, but I didn’t want to do it,” she remarked.

Griner told Roberts she grappled with remorse over all that transpired in Russia, stating she felt like she “let everybody down.”

However, since coming back to 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. She’s still going strong in the WNBA, and later this month she’ll begin a new season with the Phoenix Mercury.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli