The Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner is fighting for her freedom after being sentenced to nine years in the Russian prison. She was detained at Moscow Airport for drug possession charges on February 17. Unfortunately, it is not the first time Griner is left to fight alone against the whole world.

The 31-year-old had a lot of troubles growing up on her journey to finding her sexuality. She was forced to live in the shadows, leaving her frustrated.

Griner talked about praying to be normal, like other girls in her 2014 autobiography, ‘In My Skin’. She often cried as the other kids teased her by poking at her chest and asking if she was a boy. Griner’s struggles with her sexuality continued through her senior year when her father found out she was gay. He asked her to pack her bags and leave his house.

Brittney Griner was kicked out of her house for being gay

Griner had to take shelter at her assistant coach’s house for seven weeks before her father accepted her for who she was. Next, Brittney Griner joined the world’s largest Baptist University, Baylor. She told the coach Kim Mulkey about being gay. Mulkey told her he did not care as long as she kept working hard on the court.

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Unfortunately, things got tricky when Griner went out with her girlfriend on Valentine’s Day, and Mulkey was not too pleased about it.

Griner’s started to get frustrated about ‘living in the shadows.’ She had to hide her reality in public and it stressed her out. Sometimes, her anger and frustrations could be seen on the court. Once, the Phoenix Mercury star was suspended for two games in her freshmen year after she punched a Texas Tech player and broke her nose.

Mulkey’s suggestion helps Griner find calmness

Kim Mulkey was cornered about the incident. He ordered Brittney Griner to see a therapist after the violent incident. Griner found therapy helpful as it gave her a chance to open up. She found someone supportive to talk to and continued her therapy as an adult.

Fortunately, things have changed a lot in society since then. The LGBTQ+ community has received more support from society in recent times compared to the time when Griner was a girl. Even Baylor University took in their first LQBTQ+ group this April. The struggles that Griner had growing up have inspired a lot of young people struggling with their sexuality. Brittney Griner married Cherelle Griner in 2019. She is doing all she can to bring the WNBA star home.

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Griner faces another massive challenge in front of her. She has been stuck in Russia for over 225 days now. Hopefully, the 2014 WNBA champ will prevail yet again in her journey to finding freedom.