WNBA star Brittney Griner grew up in Houston, Texas, and went to the Chester W. Nimitz Senior High School. She had always been an athletic kid, but she did not play basketball early on. Griner was playing volleyball at first and she is still a huge fan of the sport. However, she later found a passion for basketball which has taken her all around the world. But it was not easy for her to stay away from home and her mother. It was hard for her mother Sandra Griner as well.

After becoming a high school superstar, Griner joined Baylor Lady Bears which was in Texas. So she was closer to home. But things changed when she joined the WNBA.

She had helped the Lady Bears win a national title in 2012. Griner was one of the best players in college basketball. And she dominated her opponents with ease. The Phoenix Mercury selected her as the #1 draft pick in the 2013 WNBA draft.

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So now she had to move to Phoenix, Arizona to live her WNBA dream. But it was not easy for her to stay afar from her mother who has been very supportive of her.

It was a difficult time for Brittney Griner

Brittney Griner first came out as gay publicly in 2013 after getting drafted. However, her family already knew. When she first came out to her parents, her father was not very supportive. Her father, Raymond Griner is a former Harris County sheriff and Marine veteran who served in Vietnam. He was not yet ready to accept his daughter. So she moved out to live with a high school coach. However, her mother Sandra was very welcoming and supportive.

Griner wrote in her book how hard it was for her to live without her mother. Also, it hit her mother hard as well. “The hardest part was being so far away from my friends and family back in Houston, especially my mom,” she wrote.

Griner added, “Ever since she was diagnosed with lupus, after my freshman year at Baylor, we’ve been really close, and I’ve tried to be strong for her. But I wasn’t feeling strong right then. I didn’t even want to call her, because it hurt to hear her hurting.”

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The Phoenix Mercury center stated her mother suffered from a lot of physical ailments when she was growing up. However, her mother has always been there for her. Despite all her problems, Sandra has always been a “rock” for her daughter.