Brittney Griner once discussed taunts about being a guy affecting her game: "I’m afraid to dunk because..."

WNBA star Brittney Griner’s 2014 memoir “In My Skin” paints a vivid picture of her early career and overall struggles with respect to her sexuality.

Brittney Griner's college career at Baylor University is a central focus of the book. Kim Mulkey, the head women's basketball coach, had a close but turbulent relationship with her. During Griner's time at Baylor, there was an "anti-homosexual acts" policy in place. Griner, who is openly gay, told Mulkey about her sexual orientation after verbally committing to Baylor.

Mulkey's response was less than supportive and she told Griner to keep her sexuality a secret. Griner wrote about her frustration with this throughout her book, feeling like she had to hide who she was during her formative years.

In an interview with ESPN, Griner explained that the coaches were worried that if they seemed to condone being gay, parents would not let their children play for Baylor. Despite the program's success, there was a fear that attending Baylor meant giving in to changing attitudes toward acceptance of queerness.

However, the problem was not only the coach. Griner claims that the audience at Baylor regularly made insensitive jokes about her body: “I was feeling pretty good about my body. I was getting stronger, and being an athlete gave me a sense of focus.”

She added:

But alongside positive remarks about her professional future were comments along the lines of, “You sure that’s a girl?” — except many more pronounced and contemptuous, demanding proof of her gender as they derided her accomplishment because she’s tall, because she’s Black. As if Black women aren’t allowed to be Black women anymore because they choose to use their bodies to play sports. I sometimes worried about looking so powerful. You think guys ever worry about that stuff? I’m afraid to dunk because people might think I’m too strong.”

Throwback to when Brittney Griner spoke out against homophobic comments

During her freshman year at Baylor, Brittney Griner was suspended for two games due to an incident known as "The Punch". This happened when Griner hit another player in response to a hard foul against her that was not called. The incident resulted in inappropriate jokes about domestic violence and accusations that Griner was a man participating in a women's basketball game. The jokes also turned racist because the player Griner hit was white.

The WNBA star recently also made headlines for being imprisoned in Russia for possession of vape pens. After spending almost a year in prison, she was finally released and reunited with her wife, Cherelle. Griner's incarceration sparked support from NBA athletes and a prisoner swap that included the release of an arms dealer.

Despite the controversy surrounding Brittney Griner's imprisonment, her family and friends are happy to have her back. Some have called for a shift toward more positive media coverage of Griner.