Brittney Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport in February 2022 after authorities found e-cigarette cartridges containing cannabis oil illegal in Russia; Griner pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nine years in prison and sent to a penal colony
Last updated: 05/02/24 3:18 p.m
Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner is a two-time Olympic gold medalist
Brittney Griner revealed that she contemplated suicide while in custody in Russia following her arrest on drug charges in February 2022.
Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport after Russian authorities found e-cigarette cartridges containing cannabis oil, which is illegal in Russia.
Griner had been playing in the Russian Premier League when she was arrested two years ago. She pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to nine years in prison and sent to a penal colony.
“I wanted to take my own life more than once in the first few weeks,” Griner told the American broadcaster ABC.
“I really wanted to leave here. My whole heart fell out of my body. Just this overwhelming feeling, like an elevator was falling out from under my feet.”
“I just ask myself, ‘My life is over here. As they rummage through my pockets, there are two cartridges. And I’m just like, ‘Oh my God, how did I make that mistake?’
“How could I be so absent-minded and make this big mistake? I could just imagine everything I worked so hard for just collapsing and disappearing.”
Griner was in Russia to play again for her European team UMMC Ekaterinburg, but has since vowed she will not play abroad again unless it is with the U.S. national team.
Griner, 33, was imprisoned for nearly 10 months but was released in December 2020 in a prison exchange involving Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
“I didn’t think I could get through what I needed to,” Griner added.
“I definitely thought about (suicide). But then I just thought to myself: What if they didn’t give my body to my family? And I thought, ‘I can’t put them through that. I have to endure this.’ .’”
Griner also detailed the condition of her cell, saying that at times she felt “less than human.”
“When we enter the cell, there is a toilet,” Griner said. “There’s a little rinkity sink that’s leaking and then it just adds a layer of dust, dirt, grime and blood stains. Just dirt.”
“I had a few shirts, a few pairs of sweatpants and the shoes on my feet. I tore one of my shirts and used one to clean. I used one as toilet paper. With my dirty, dirty hole in the ground with feces everywhere.
“That was the moment I felt the dirtiest and less than human.”
Brittney Griner led Phoenix to the 2014 WNBA title
Before her release, the Phoenix Mercury star said she was ordered to write a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“They let me write this letter. It was in Russian,” she said. “I had to ask their so-called great leader for forgiveness and thanks. I didn’t want to do it, but at the same time I wanted to come home.”
Playing in the WNBA for the first time since the incident on May 19, 2023, Griner finished with 18 points, six rebounds and four blocks for the Mercury.
Griner, who led Phoenix to the WNBA title in 2014, played in 31 games last season and averaged 17.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists. The eight-time All-Star has averaged 17.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.7 blocks over her 10-year career.