Brittney Griner, 2024
American professional basketball player and activist
48 x 60 inches
Oil on canvas
“Growing up, I always got 'She's a man,' or 'She plays too hard,' or 'There's just no way that she can be that good because, you know, a girl can't do that.' And I struggle with it a little bit. I'm like: Well, am I going too hard? And then I just realized, like, I'm a competitor.”
—Brittney Griner
Brittney Griner currently plays for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association. Griner is a three-time Olympic gold medalist with the U.S. women's national basketball team and a six-time WNBA All-Star. In 2023 Griner was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine. On February 17, 2022, Griner was detained and arrested for smuggling by Russian customs officials after cartridges containing less than a gram of medically prescribed hash oil which is illegal in Russia, were found in her luggage. She had been playing basketball with the Russian Premier League during the WNBA off-season. Griner pled guilty to the charges and on August 4 but stated that she had no intention of breaking the law. She was sentenced to nine years in prison. In November 2022, she was transferred to the Russian penal colony. Under the Biden administration, on December 8, Griner was released in a prisoner exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. She made her return to the WNBA in May 2023, receiving a standing ovation from the audience. Since publicly coming out as a lesbian in a 2023 Sports Illustrated article, Griner has spoken of the difficulties this posed with her father. She has also described the bullying she was subjected to as a child for appearing ‘different.’ Consequently, she has become very passionate about teaching and supporting young children undergoing similar experiences. Griner is the first openly gay athlete to be endorsed by Nike.