Brittney Griner has dealt with a lot of problems during her life. The WNBA superstar spent 10 months detained in Russia and was even sentenced to nine years in prison.
Fortunately, she was released and returned to the United States. However, Griner's struggles did not start in Russia. She's dealt with a lot of problems since she was a child and it's drastically affected her.
While playing college basketball for Baylor, the young talented player felt unwelcome disclosing her sexuality, despite being openly gay. She claimed that people wouldn't even let their kids play for the college.
In her book, "In My Skin: My Life On and Off the Basketball Court," the Phoenix Mercury center revealed many interesting things regarding her life. Standing at 6-foot-9, she's one of the tallest players in WNBA history, but to get to this point, she had to deal with a lot.
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Griner did not develop like the other girls. She was much taller than everyone else, which is why many of her classmates made fun of her. Unfortunately, the situation wasn't ideal at Baylor college either.
In her book, the WNBA superstar revealed that the university did not support gay athletes except when they had benefited from it. In her interview with ESPN in 2013, Griner revealed struggles with disclosing her sexuality.
"It was a recruiting thing," Griner said. "The coaches thought that if it seemed like they condoned it, people wouldn't let their kids come play for Baylor."
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When the WNBA star was detained in Russia, Kim Mulkey, her college coach, refused to speak on it. This was very disappointing considering everything that Griner has done for the college.
Brittney Griner had a lot of success at Baylor
Brittney Griner joined Baylor University in 2009 and immediately set the NCAA record for most blocks in a season with 223. She consistently improved and led the team to a perfect 40-0 record and NCAA championship in her third year.
In four years in college, the 6-9 center averaged 22.2 points per game, along with 8.8 rebounds and 5.1 blocks. She was also very efficient, shooting 56.9% from the field and turning the ball over only 1.4 times per game.
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In her book, the WNBA superstar revealed that she'd love to be an ambassador for Baylor. Despite getting support as a basketball player, Griner felt a lot of pain there, which left a sour taste in her mouth.