Brittney Griner feels ‘isolated at times' due to public reaction to her appearance

[Music] now that I'm back in the States I think a lot about what home means in Russia I knew home by his absence isolation fear sadness confinement home is love home is Rest Home is stability home is freedom and connection 33-year-old Britney GR has been on an unimaginable Journey from imprisonment to Freedom From Hell to home it's a nightmare she calls the most frightening ordeal of her life the details of which she is finally sharing we're good this is the first time you are sitting down like this to tell your story mhm Britney are you ready I'm so ready is there any part of you that's maybe a little fearful of sharing so much of the intimate details of your story a little bit it's a lot it's a lot it's so intimate and personal to me she's opening up about her life and her heroing tale of survival in the Russian prison system in her new book called coming home so what does home mean to you being at peace being able to be who I am knowing I could be my my authentic self Britney gr said she's the most dominant player in women's college basketball much of who Britney is has been defined by basketball the nine-time WNBA Allstar and two-time Olympic gold medalist has been a Human Highlight Reel but many would be surprised to learn Britney didn't play basketball until she was 15 years old can I take you down memory lane yeah a little video here uhoh um it was called sports stars of tomorrow remember this 2007 you were a junior in high school and this is you oh my God all the hair the braids it's here for me to go go and get it yeah what do you think about when you see a young Britney come on I needed a sandwich that's what I needed oh my God yeah no I mean those were Good Times where it started but along with the good times of basketball success are the painful memories of not fitting in you're 69 now uh you said even in Middle School you were towering over yeah everybody and that your voice started getting deeper you weren't developing like the other girls and that your parents took you to a doctor so they really wanted to make sure I didn't have a tumor on my poory gland I don't know at one point I was kind of like can we stop cuz it like doesn't feel the best and I felt like a lap rat a little bit from middle school to today Britney writes she has been mistaken for being male enduring endless teasing and taunts when you're born with a body like mine a part of you dies every day with every mean comment and lingering stare you're the biggest person in the room but you're also the loneliest not a lot of people understand what it is to walk in my shoes literally they're big shoes to fill um but I just feel so isolated at times was basketball a way that you felt seen it was a home for you yeah no it was definitely a home for me I could be the way I was intended to be and that's big and different say it loud say it proud oh yeah over the years Britney has also become loud and proud about her sexuality just recently I came out to the public I've been out since about the 9th grade came out to my mom first in 2013 she was the wnba's number one draft pick the Phoenix Mercury select Britney Griner Britney became the first openly gay athlete to earn a Nike endorsement her signature moves and signature dreads on full display in 2019 she married fellow Baylor Alum cherelle Watson and by 2022 they are settled into their lives together when Britney's terrifying ordeal begins she's home on a onewe break from playing basketball in Russia here you are one of the top players in the WNBA and for years you're going overseas playing in Russia why did you have to go over there and play pay Equity is uh you know it's it's not what we want it to be Britney's WNBA salary was five times less than what she made in Russia where she made over a million dollar in 2022 I have to make a living for my family you know I I so I have to go over overseas and Russia was the place that that that gave me that Financial stability what did you think of Russia I didn't really know what to expect honestly but when I got there we were always flying private we stayed in the best hotels you're treated as a superstar over there but after 7 years of playing in Russia recovering from Co and wishing for more time with Charelle Britney says she was tired of the constant travel and you had decided pretty much that this was going to be it you didn't even want to get on the plane I did not want to go but I could just hear my dad and what he instilled in me you know you you finish what you start so February 15th 2022 the day you left home and things would never really be the same after that you said the whole day felt strange how I was late getting up uh never late getting up finally got up literally running around the house I'm stressing like I go into straight panic mode Britney says that Charelle usually packed for her but this time she did it herself my packing at that moment was just throwing all my stuff in there and zipping it up and saying okay I'm ready so go on to Moscow mhm and this is a flight that you've taken countless times countless times upon Landing in Moscow Britney has to go through security before boarding her connecting flight there's a lady with a dog they have people in camo Dog Steps up to the person in front sniffs makes no sign sniffs me stiffs my stuff goes to the next person no problem goes through the scanner they ask me to come to the side and then to open up my bags and with me helping which was all already kind of weird cuz TSA in the States you don't touch anything we start going through my bags

Channel: ABC News

Views: 106,737

Keywords: 2020, Basketball, Brittney, Griner, abc, appearance, critiques, fitting, identity, in, isolated, memories, news, of, p_cmsid=2494279, p_vid=news-109848966, painful, public, reaction, star, wnba

Id: c0EazcCNNwM

Length: 6min 56sec (416 seconds)

Published: Thu May 02 2024