Phoenix Mercury’s Brittney Griner is widely believed to be the best thing to happen to the WNBA since… well, since anyone. Griner is a 6’8” (208 cm) center with good athleticism who can run down the floor and dominate anyone under the paint. What she can do on the court is unprecedented. Oh, and she can dunk the basketball like no other woman could before. Arguably not even Lebron James had such an impact on his league when he was drafted.
With the 2013 WNBA draft billed as the best in league history, and with Griner the top pick along with top three picks Elena Delle-Donne and Skylar Diggins (and don’t underestimate other potential young stars), The Interest began to surround women’s basketball not only in the US, but also around the world. And for good reason! How’s this for a fact: After just one WNBA pro game, Griner was already tied for the most dunks in league history!
high school
At Nimitz High School in Houston, “the big H,” as she calls her, Griner was already starting to show off her strong game and incredible spiking skills, and she began to realize that she’s not going to be the pro skater she dreamed of being. . But High School wasn’t the first place where Brittney encountered rejection and insults. Yes, Griner’s story is not just sports as it should be. I guess this is the first and only time gossip and sexuality finds its way onto our website, but sometimes a sports story needs to encompass the hero’s character and the personal struggles that helped him achieve greatness. Rarely is this really necessary…we think it’s necessary now.
A tall girl with a deep voice, boyish hobbies, who wore boyish clothes (such as shirts and bow ties), she was prone to being insulted by her classmates. “You are a man”. “Look at her flat chest.” She tried to fit in, but the fight was lost from the start. Sometimes when those close to her thought she was sleeping or just minding her own business, she would cry and contemplate suicide. “Why am I not ‘normal’? I’m alone. What’s the point of continuing?” But no, she wouldn’t hurt her family. That’s when she started looking for some things and found out who she is: a “strong black lesbian woman”. “I’ll be who I am, act the way I like, and wear the clothes I want (not a real date). She did. High school was hell at times, but she got through it with a smile on her face ( her motto, ‘laugh now, cry later’, is artistically imprinted on her skin.) She wasn’t openly gay, but she knew it, people knew it, and she had no problem with it. She was on a policy of asking and say: “If you ask me, are you a lesbian?, I will tell you: yes”.
Baylor
Griner, a high school sensation, was expected to succeed at Baylor University. And she did exactly that. With numerous personal records, but most notably a 40-0 record season in 2012 and an NCAA Champion title, it’s safe to say that Brittney achieved and exceeded expectations…although in her final season, Baylor lost the title to stunned at home by Louisville in a big upset. She holds the record for most dunks (18) in women’s college basketball and most blocks (748) in men’s and women’s college basketball. Also, how about a 50-point game in his final game of the regular season, capped off with a dunk? That’s crazy!
The loss at Louisville wasn’t the only handicap in Griner’s career at Baylor. While he mocked his college opponents and eventually confided in his sexuality, Brittney was forbidden to express it, as Baylor had little tolerance for gay athletes. He even had to wear sleeves on the court to hide his tattoos. “I was not alone, I assure you. There were a lot of gay athletes at Baylor,” Brittney said in an ESPN interview. She talks about the US being the most open-minded country in the world.
life as herself
When the WNBA draft rolled around, where the Phoenix Mercury selected her at No. 1, Brittney finally came out and declared what she and those close to her had known for a long time: “I’m gay, I’m lesbian. I’m going to be who I am and no one can tell me what I am.” contrary”. Reactions were mixed, but appreciation and admiration had to be the main consensus.
At the moment, Brittney is facing the challenges that professional basketball brings. His team was 0-3 at the start of the season, with solid performances from Griner, including 2 dunks in his first pro game, but also some lapses in concentration on his part. He then suffered a minor knee injury, but now Griner is back in the lineup with solid performances for a rejuvenated team. It’s a long road, but she’s ready to hug him.
Lebron James openly stated his admiration for Griner’s game. “You know, she’s like Wilt (Chamberlain), she’s dominating. We have guys on our team that can’t do what she does. Some of her moves, I haven’t,” said James, who quickly ego-ed his way into a joke: “I mean I CAN. I can. Let’s not get out of control.” Kareem Abdul Jabbar had training sessions with her to teach Brittney her famous skyhook, something Brittney thoroughly enjoyed and, according to the former Lakers superstar, could do again. Griner became the first openly gay athlete to sign an endorsement deal with Nike. For the first time, she was also allowed to wear men’s clothing.
By far the most controversial basketball-related story involving Griner began when flamboyant Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said he was considering drafting her in the second round of the 2013 NBA Draft. Brittney embraced the idea, saying that you would love to try. Could she compete in the men’s game? Now, probably not, actually almost certainly not. She is a force in the women’s game, but she in the NBA she would face the likes of Dwight Howard, how could she compete with that? The men are taller, much stronger than her, and she doesn’t have the ability to shift position and play, let’s say Small Forward, only there she would meet men her size, but still, more powerful than her. Right now, she should probably develop her game in the women’s league to become the destructive force she proved she can be. However, in the future, as she develops her game, who knows? And in the end, as she says, “the only thing you can do is try and do your best.” That won’t hurt anyone. You know, 10 people who don’t have a chance try it, and maybe one of them will make it. And that is progress.
People tend to reject everything that is not ‘normal’, but there is no such thing as ‘normal’. Society is a mess and Brittney still faces adversity, especially on social media. “He plays like the man you are.” “You wear long shorts so you can get it in.” “Griner is a failure.” But at this point, who cares? It is always possible that one still hides sadness from him with a happy face (“laugh now, cry later”), but he has apparently worked his way to happiness, both mentally and physically. That’s right, she didn’t just have basketball skills to work on to be successful. She also had to resist mentally.
Griner’s ambition and skill helped her. Now, as a well-deserved role model, she supports the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. She encourages young people to be who they are to her, or even reach out to her for support. But a question arises: will those who fail to earn a spot in the spotlight forever face the blame of society? Will they hide forever in the shadows? We wouldn’t be writing about Brittney right now if she hadn’t, right? We wouldn’t have known about her. But this is another topic, for someone else to stop.
Sports can bring both salvation and remarkable stories. All gossip aside, Brittney Griner is one WNBA player who could change women’s basketball forever. Whether she can do exactly that remains to be seen. But with that kind of display that she puts on, you must be a fan. Expect Brittney to be the best women’s basketball has ever had to offer. After all, that’s who she is: a tough WNBA rookie working to be the star she can be. And she really seems to be a good girl.