WNBA star Brittney Griner spoke at size for the primary time about her detention in Russia throughout an interview with ABC on Wednesday evening.
Griner was travelling from New York to Moscow in February of 2022, as she was taking part in for the Russian basketball membership UMMC Ekaterinburg in the course of the WNBA’s offseason.
Russian authorities detained her in Moscow after discovering vape cartridges containing oil derived from hashish.
She went to trial in Russia and was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony.
The Phoenix Mercury heart revealed that she thought of committing suicide throughout her tenth-month lengthy stint in a Russian jail.
“I wanted to take my life more than once in the first weeks,” Griner told interviewer Robin Roberts. “I felt like leaving here so badly.”
The seven-time WNBA All-Star defined that she determined to not undergo with it for the concern her physique would by no means be launched to her household.
Griner additionally spoke in regards to the horrible residing circumstances in her jail cell, which contained a mattress with “a huge blood stain on it…no soap, no toilet paper.”
It all made her really feel “less than human.”
The two-time Olympic gold medallist stated she additionally confronted a psychiatric analysis after being arrested and was anxious she would get institutionalized as a result of Russian authorities contemplate homosexuality as a psychological sickness.
The solely motive Griner was freed was as a result of the US did a deal to change her for Russian arms seller Viktor Bout.
Before her launch, Griner was pressured to jot down a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“They made me write this letter. It was in Russian,” she stated. “I had to ask for forgiveness and thanks from their so-called great leader. I didn’t want to do it, but at the same time I wanted to come home.”
If you or somebody you understand is considering suicide, please name the US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or textual content the Crisis Text Line at 741-741.
