Brittney Griner, the first pick of the WNBA draft
and once rumored draftee for the NBA, has recently come out as a lesbian. She
has been mercilessly insulted during her basketball career, and probably
throughout her life, for her more masculine voice, appearance, and strength.
Despite being under such a microscope, she has handled it well and has gained
the respect of at least the basketball community. It takes a big person to be
someone who is "always open with who [she is]," but now she will have
to be even more so because now she represents three different groups who
struggle to gain respect among the rest of her peers. She is a gay, black
female. She has been under scrutiny for
having a more masculine appearance than other women, the tonality of her voice
being targeted quite often. While I have
not seen criticisms for her race in the media or on social media sites, she
more than likely has been insulted for that as well. To top all of this off, she now has come out
of the closet right as she is about to join the WNBA.
I really admire because she never makes excuses for
who she is, but simply accepts it and leaves it up to other people to do the
same. She does not concern herself with the taunts of others, but focuses on
the people who matter, like friends, family, and teammates. This kind of attitude, I think, makes her the
perfect person to represent all three of these groups. She has recently signed an endorsement deal
with Nike as they were keen to endorse an openly gay player. I think it is beneficial to combine
movements, such as these three, because it makes their fights stronger. Obviously, these are three pieces of her
person that she cannot control, but she is still insulted because of them. She owns who she is and is continuing to
follow her dreams without paying heed to the naysayers. I think it is wonderful that all of these
movements have come together under the umbrella of basketball and sports in
general because some sports fans may be among the naysayers, but if they see
one of the players they keep up with regularly representing these groups, they
will be more likely to accept and defend her.
Do you think it is beneficial to groups struggling
for equal rights to join forces? Does that detract from a group’s individual
cause? Also, do you think these causes have a better chance when tied together
with a popular pastime, such as basketball?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/25/brittney-griner-nike-deal-_n_3157164.html?utm_hp_ref=black-voices&ir=Black%20Voices
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