'I know who I am': Brittney Griner's radical existence [View all]

Was thinking about buying her memoir today and came across this article. Long but good read

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On the court, further adversities emerged as Griner did on the national stage, when during her sophomore year of high school, the famous “High School Girl Dunker” video hit the internet. “I was feeling pretty good about my body,” Griner writes. “I was getting stronger, and being an athlete gave me a sense of focus.”

But alongside positive remarks about her professional future were comments along the lines of, “You sure that’s a girl?” — except many more pronounced and contemptuous, demanding proof of her gender as they derided her accomplishment because she’s tall, because she’s Black. As if Black women aren’t allowed to be Black women anymore because they choose to use their bodies to play sports.

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”I sometimes worried about looking so powerful,” Griner writes of her final Baylor home game in the second round of the 2013 NCAA tournament. Before the game, the Baylor radio commentator had playfully challenged her to record three dunks against Florida State, since no woman had ever done it before. “You think guys ever worry about that stuff?” she asks. “I’m afraid to dunk because people might think I’m too strong.”
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“I stand out in the world, and I love that about myself,” Griner writes. “I didn’t always feel this way, but I’ve come to discover that the more I embrace who I am, the more I connect with other people. And the more I connect with other people, the more I learn about myself.” Resistance, pride of identity, beating the odds — and then, self-acceptance. Radical on their own, but for a Black queer woman athlete at the edge of the world — with an unashamedly powerful dunk — it’s practically revolutionary.

https://www.swishappeal.com/platform/amp/2018/6/29/17508976/wnba-2018-book-review-in-my-skin-i-know-who-i-am-brittney-griners-radical-existence-pride-lgbtq