Brittney Griner is a female basketball player who comes from the United States.
During the halftime report, “young fans call in to ask WNBA players questions about their boyfriends or how someone might become a WNBA star,” as indicated by the Washington Post in 1998.
In the 1990s, female athletes were unheard of as leaders on the court without the support of a “lover” on the bench.
Few WNBA officials ever admitted to having a lesbian or bisexual player. Sheryl Swoopes, the first large event in the 2000s, only made her debut in 2005. The New York Times quoted Swoopes and said,
“Five years ago, I probably wouldn’t have [come out]. It wasn’t until Swoopes won an Olympic gold medal, four WNBA titles, and three league MVP awards that she felt secure enough emotionally and financially to live openly as a homosexual person: “I was really frightened of what type of effect it would have, afraid of losing endorsements.”
In the late 70s and early 80s, female players were not considered a threat to the sport. In order to prevent that perception from changing, players typically had a “lover” cheering them on from the sidelines.
Because of her voice, she was always in trouble.
When Griner was a child in Houston, Texas, she had trouble accepting her uniqueness.“I believe I started feeling different when people started telling me I was,” In her 2014 biography, she wrote.
When she was in middle school, her voice was “flat and skinny” and soft. All the other kids would make fun of her, saying things like “She must be a male,” as they passed her in the halls. There’s something about that girl; she doesn’t seem like a typical female.
The mockery caused Griner to lose a sense of self-esteem, and she would fluctuate between being happy, sad and confused. Unknowingly, basketball had become a driving force in her life at the age of 15 when she stood six foot tall on the Nimitz High School varsity squad.
Griner used her height and determination to excel on the court. In 2007, a video of her dunking went viral online.
She enrolled at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, in the fall of 2008. With her wingspan of 88 inches, she has been seen longboarding across campus and laughing with her friends in the cafeteria. She’s destroyed opponents on the basketball court too.
As a junior, she led her team to an undefeated record and won the national championship.
Nonetheless, Griner had to conceal her identity as a Baylor student. Her coach, Kim Mulkey, summoned her to his office one day during her sophomore year.
Griner’s book tells how she was disappointed by her star player when she found out they had dinner the night before Valentine’s Day. “You don’t want to be caught doing that,” Mulkey said. “Little Lady, do this only behind closed doors.”
In its history, Baylor University established a moral code that prohibited all sexual conduct before marriage, including homosexuality.
Baylor University restricted how Griner could promote the organization she wanted to raise its profile. Campuses all across the country were gathered to protest her profusely.
“I spent a lot of time wondering if they supported Brittney Griner the person or just Brittney Griner the basketball player,” she writes in her memoir.
