WNBA star Brittney Griner came out in 2013 after the Phoenix Mercury drafted her as the #1 pick in the 2013 draft. And the league has been welcoming. However, that has not been the case during her childhood and college days. Griner once opened up multiple times about the number of hate comments she had to endure growing up. She said that during her junior high and high school days, others used to tease her for her appearance and her deep voice. Griner said that she would come home, go to her room and just cry.

The towering center said that she even used to question her existence. She said, “Just thinking, like, Why am I even here? Why am I even alive?” However, she soon found her purpose and passion in basketball. In 9th grade, a coach asked her to try her hand at basketball. And this gave her the platform to work on her confidence.

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She would soon become one of the best basketball prospects with her length and skills even though she struggled a bit with her growth spurt. Also, this was the time she finally came out to her parents.

Brittney Griner came out

According to reports, Griner came out to her parents, and while her mother greeted the news with mellow aplomb—she’d always love her girl, she said—her father, Ray, declared that he wasn’t “raising any lesbian.” And Griner moved out during her senior year to live with an assistant coach of her school team. However, her father finally came around and accepted her daughter for who she is. Then the two mended things with each other and stayed in regular contact.

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During her high school, Griner went through a growth spurt. The sudden change in her height gave her extreme discomfort. Even though she has always been athletic, she became a bit clumsy due to this change. Griner said that she struggled to even catch the basketball at times because of this.

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Also, her lanky build and long hands were targets of hate comments as well. She said that some of her schoolmates would tease her about her big hands, big feet, and deep voice. Not just in school, Griner was targeted on social media as well. She revealed that she receives a lot of hate comments on social media. However, Griner said that she is comfortable with her body and likes that she is different from many.