WNBA star Brittney Griner has one of the most inspirational stories of struggle and glory. The Phoenix Mercury center had a difficult childhood as she often found herself different and distanced from other kids. Being labeled as a freak in school, her expressive nature at home did not protect Griner from being sad, frustrated, and lonely. Brittney Griner once revealed the struggles she faced in school from being attracted to girls to standing out due to her height and clothes.

Brittney Griner talked about her rough time at school while growing up in her memoir, ‘In My Skin: My Life On and Off the Basketball Court.’ Griner shared that she started feeling different when everyone around her began telling her that she was different. During her time in school, BG started to lose her fearless nature and felt scared around people.

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Moreover, the eight-time All-Star shared that she never liked boys. She had a crush on her best friend in school and used to walk around holding her hand as it felt right to Griner.

Brittney Griner talked about her struggles through middle school

Things started crumbling when BG went to middle school as she felt quite awful during that period. She was not one of the famous kids with attractive shoes and clothes. In addition, the surprising changes in Brittney Griner’s appearance and height made her stick out. Griner stated, “I was starting to stick out more because of my height and appearance. It was all elbows and knees and rough edges.”

As a defense mechanism, BG started hiding in smaller groups by attempting to fit in through the sixth, seventh and eighth grades. She tried her best to avoid being bullied by other kids. Looking back as a grown-up, BG felt that it was quite stupid to make efforts just to be a part of the crowd. She felt like trying hard to talk and be like everyone else was quite exhausting and self-destructive for her.

However, Griner never gave in and continue to keep moving forward on her journey to discovering her individuality. She moved past the struggles in hopes of seeing greener pastures after a rough childhood experience.

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Her experience being the odd one could certainly inspire her to fight alone in Russia as she has done all her life. Hopefully, she will get through her present battles for freedom as well.