Brittney Griner is a professional American basketball player. Brittney Griner plays center for Phoenix Mercury of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) as well as the national team.
Early Life and Childhood
Brittney Griner was born on October 18, 1990, and she is currently 31 years old. She hails from Houston, Texas, and her zodiac sign is Libra. Likewise, her full name is Brittney Yevette Griner. Talking of her family, her parents are her mother Sandra Griner, and her father Raymond Griner. Likewise, she has three older siblings namely Shkera, Pier, and Decarlo.
Caption: Brittney Griner in a childhood photograph with her family. Source: Instagram
Talking about her educational journey, she attended Nimitz High School. There, she lettered in basketball throughout high school. Besides this, she also played varsity volleyball as a freshman. Beginning in her sophomore year, she practiced with the boys’ basketball team.
During her junior season, a YouTube video that featured her dunks was viewed more than 2.7 million times. This eventually led to her meeting with Shaquille O’Neal, a remarkable basketball player, and analyst. Later on, she attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas. There too, she played basketball with the college team.
Professional Life
Professionally, Brittney Griner is a basketball player. She plays for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). Before turning professional, she played high school as well as college basketball. At college, she played for the Baylor Lady Bears in Waco, Texas. Moreover, she is the only NCAA basketball player who has a record of 2,000 score points and 500 block shots.
Caption: Brittney Griner with her basketball team being honored by the then US President Barack Obama in 2017. Source: Instagram
In the year 2012, she was named AP Player of the Year as well as the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. She is also a famous three-time All-American. While playing for Phoenix Mercury, she wears jersey No. 42.
Likewise, in the year 2009, Rivals.com named Brittney the nation’s #1 high school women’s basketball player. The same year, the basketballer was selected to the Phoenix Mercury All-American basketball team. Further, in the year 2012, she received the Best Female Athlete ESPY Award.
More Details
Similarly, the basketballer was also on the USA Olympic Women’s team in the year 2016. During the 2016 Summer Olympics, she helped lead them to victory. Earlier in 2013, she signed an endorsement deal with Nike. This was the 1st time the company signed such a deal with an openly gay athlete.
Further, recently in June 2021, there was an announcement that she would be competing as part of Team USA Women’s Basketball at the 2020 Olympics, which is happening from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. The player also co-wrote a memoir with Sue Hovey. In her memoir, she addresses issues like bullying and self-acceptance. This memoir is In My Skin: My Life On and Off the Basketball Court published in 2014.
Caption: Brittney Griner posing for a photo with her teammate after their win at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Source: Instagram
Relationship Status
Brittney Griner publicly came out as a lesbian on February 11, 2013. It was in an interview with SI.com. At present, she is married to Cherelle T. Griner. The couple celebrated their 3rd anniversary recently on June 19, 2021. The two shared their engagement news on August 2, 2018, via Instagram. The two first met at Baylor as Brittney shared on her recent anniversary Instagram post.
Previously, she was married to Glory Johnson from 8 May 2015 to 27 June 2016. Prior to this, the two WNBA players announced their engagement on August 14, 2014. On April 22, 2015, only 8 months after their engagement, the lovers were arrested on charges of assault and disorderly conduct. The police broke up a fight between the couple in their Goodyear, Arizona home.
Further, on May 15, 2015, the WNBA suspended both her and Glory for seven games each. This was after the former pled guilty to disorderly conduct charges. Furthermore, she was also needed to complete 26 weeks of domestic violence counseling.
Likewise, on June 4, 2015, the couple announced that Glory was pregnant with twins. The next day, she filed for an annulment of the marriage. Moreover, as Glory became pregnant through IVF treatment using her eggs and a sperm donation, she has no biological connection to the twins. The couple’s divorce was finalized in June 2016.
Caption: Brittney Griner posing for a photo with her wife. Source: Instagram
Body Measurements
Brittney Griner’s listed height is 6 feet 8 inches or 203 cm and her listed weight is 205 lbs or 93 kgs. The basketballer wears a men’s US size 17 shoe. Further, the player has an arm span of 88 in or 220 cm. She has brown eyes and curly hair of the same color.
Social Media and Net Worth
Talking about her social media presence, Brittney Griner joined Twitter in December 2012 and so far has over 76.9K followers on her @brittneygriner account. Likewise, she goes by @brittneyyevettegriner on Instagram and so far has more than 314k followers. Moving on, she has a net worth of approximately $3 million US dollars.
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