A former student-athlete at the University of Rochester who was kidnapped in 2015 is sharing his story on national television.
ESPN aired an E:60 feature story on former U of R defensive end Niko Kollias Sunday morning, where he took viewers through his horrifying ordeal.
Kollias and another teammate were lured by two women to a home on Harvest Street in Rochester where they were held against their will and tortured for 40 hours. They were rescued by a Rochester SWAT team on a Sunday morning.
Now, nearly two years later, Kollias is on the road to recovery in his hometown of Chicago.
"I made the conscious decision to live, survive and overcome the challenge I was faced with and that's exactly what I did," said Kollias.
All nine suspects involved in the kidnapping were later tried and convicted. They each received anywhere from 13 to 155 years in prison.
The show says the kidnapping was retaliation for a violent drug robbery involving another member of the football team.
The person convicted for that robbery, and the alleged intended target of the kidnapping, was U of R linebacker Isaiah Smith.
The show cites court documents, showing Smith's bail posted by U of R football coach Dan Kyle following his arrest.
It aired a statement from the school saying that no member of administration asked Kyle to sign for Smith's release.
The show goes on to say that he is no longer employed by the university or coaching college football.
Kollias says the school turned a blind eye to Smith's alleged drug dealing due to his star football player status.
Smith was later sentenced to 13 years in prison for burglary, robbery and assault for the drug heist.
Earlier this week, the university issued a statement to the media, ahead of the special, saying in part:
"In the current ESPN story, facts represented, characterizations made and conclusions drawn about the University’s practices and responses are inaccurate."