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Brittney Griner has revealed she considered taking her own life multiple times when detained in a Russian prison following her 2022 arrest.
She was freed in a 1-for-1 swap with Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in December 2022 that has since been criticized for its failure to return Paul Whelan, a US Marine imprisoned on espionage charges in 2018.
However, before she could be released, Griner considered taking her own life with the conditions in the Russian detention center leaving her feeling 'less than human', she revealed to ABC's to Robin Roberts.
'I wanted to take my life more than once in those first weeks,' she said in the sit-down interview on 20/20: Prisoner of Russia. 'I felt like leaving here so badly.'
Brittney Griner revealed she considered taking her own life multiple times in Russian prison
The WNBA superstar sat down with ABC's Robin Roberts in 20/20: Prisoner of Russia
'I didn't think I could get through what I needed to get through. I definitely thought about it,' she added about considering suicide.
'But then, I was just like, what if they didn't release my body to my family? And I was like, I can't put them through that. I have to endure this.'
Griner's thoughts of suicide came in the town of Yavas in Mordovia – a region known for its prison camps - as she had to endure the 'dirtiest' conditions in her cell.
The basketball superstar detailed the shocking conditions, including finding a 'big-a** knife' left lying in her cell when she first entered.
'When we walk into the cell, there's a bathroom. There's a little rinkity sink that leaks and then just add a layer of dust, dirt,
