Brittney Griner Gets Emotional Recalling Suicidal Thoughts in First TV Interview (Video)

Sitting opposite GMA‘s Roberts, Griner gets candid as she chronicles her journey from the arrest in February 2022 to the gut-wrenching nine-year prison sentencing she was subjected to because of the cartridges being found on her person. Griner gives viewers a peek behind the curtain of her prison environment, revealing that the conditions inside Russia’s penal colony made her feel “less than a human.”

“I was just so scared for everything…” Griner tells Roberts of her initial sentencing. As she recounts her living conditions, Griner admitted that she did have suicidal thoughts. “Yeah, I just didn’t think I could get through what I needed to get through.”

According to Griner, there was no soap, no toilet paper, and her mattress in prison “had a huge blood stain on it.”

Griner was freed from her Russian imprisonment in December 2022 and ultimately returned to the WNBA in May 2023, where she continued her career with the Phoenix Mercury.

Ahead of the special titled Prisoner in Russia: The Brittney Griner Interview with Robin Roberts, a special preview segment will air on Good Morning America the morning of Wednesday, April 24. Don’t miss it and stay tuned for the 20/20 special airing May 1 on ABC.

Prisoner in Russia: The Brittney Griner Interview with Robin Roberts, Wednesday, May 1, 10/9c, ABC