Brittney Griner Bully Story: 'I Was Humiliated' Says Basketball Star
Bringing celebrity to the world of women's professional background, WNBA player Brittney Griner admitted in a recent interview that people didn't always like her and at times, she was a victim of bullying.
At 6'8" its hard to imagine who would have enough courage to pick on Griner. But as she was growing up she says there were many times that people made fun of her because she was different.
"I was always taller, my feet were always bigger and my voice was deeper," Griner told The Los Angeles Times. Some of her classmates teased her and said she didn't look like a girl.
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"You're a dude," she remembers one classmate telling her. She was in 7th grade. "I just stood there and took it. I was humiliated. The whole school was laughing at me."
But as her skills for basketball grew stronger and stronger, so did Griner. The WNBA star says with age, she learned not to care about bullies.
"When I was younger, it really bothered me to the point where I was like 'I don't even want to be alive; why am I getting treated like that?'" Griner said. "But as I got older, I started caring less."
But although Griner has become stronger and more confident about who she is, others still continue to talk and spread rumors. Griner was offered a spot in the 2012 London Olympics, but when she decided not to play rumors surfaced that she would be unable to pass the Olympics' gender test.
"It was just stupid," she said. "People are always going to come up with dumb stuff and rumors that they don't actually know the truth to."
She revealed that she has every intention of competing in the 2016 Olympics now that school is over. And while Griner can't stop critics, she can prevent them from getting to her.
"I've learned to love myself," she said.
