The internet has a weird obsession with Brittney Griner’s identity. Seriously. If you’ve spent more than five minutes on social media during a WNBA season or followed the news of her 2022 detention in Russia, you’ve probably seen the comments. People relentlessly speculate about her body, her voice, and her life.
The question is Brittney Griner a man or woman has become a lightning rod for misinformation. It’s a topic that brings out the loudest voices in the room, but the facts are actually pretty simple.
Brittney Griner is a woman. She was born female, she identifies as a woman, and she has competed as a woman at every level of basketball—from high school to the Olympics.
The Physicality and the Misconceptions
Standing at $6'9"$, Griner is a physical powerhouse. She’s tall, lean, and has a deep voice that naturally surprises people who expect a higher pitch. She also wears a men’s size 17 shoe. Because she doesn't fit the traditional "glamour girl" mold that society often demands of female athletes, some people jump to wild conclusions.
It’s honestly exhausting. Griner has dealt with this since middle school. She’s talked openly about how the "cool girls" in 7th grade would mock her for being flat-chested or how she felt like she had to hide herself in baggy clothes.
In her 2014 memoir, In My Skin: My Life On and Off the Basketball Court, she wrote about the bullying with raw honesty. She didn't have a "standard" feminine childhood. She practiced with the boys’ team at Nimitz High School. She worked with a football coach to build the leg strength needed to dunk. By the time she was a junior, her dunks were viral on YouTube.
Why the Rumors Persist
Social media is a factory for "gender-doubting" memes. You might have seen the fake CNN screenshots or the doctored photos claiming Russia demanded a DNA test to see which prison to put her in.
None of that happened.
When Griner was held in Russia, she was eventually transferred to the Female Penal Colony IK-2 in Yavas. The Russian legal system, which is hardly known for being "woke" or progressive, processed and imprisoned her as a woman because that is her legal and biological sex.
Gender Identity vs. Style
There is a massive difference between being a man and being a woman who embraces a masculine style. Griner identifies as a queer woman. She’s comfortable in suits. She’s comfortable with her "androgynous" look.
"I’m sure people are going to have a lot of critical things to say," she told ESPN back in 2015 when she posed for the Body Issue. "Yo, she’s a man! But hey, that’s my body... I look the way I look."
She’s basically spent her entire adult life telling the world: This is just me.
Family Life and Fatherhood (Sorta)
One of the more recent "clues" people use to fuel rumors is the fact that she and her wife, Cherelle Griner, welcomed a son in July 2024. The baby, Bash Raymond, was born just before Brittney headed to the Paris Olympics.
Some people saw her comment about wanting the baby to call her "Pops" and ran with it. Honestly, it's just a nickname. It doesn't change her gender. It’s a way for her to define her role in a modern family.
Before Bash, Griner had twins from a previous marriage with Glory Johnson. The journey was messy—arrests, an annulment, and a very public divorce—but through all the tabloid drama, her identity as a woman was never in question by any legal or athletic body.
The Reality of Elite Athletics
If there were any truth to the "secretly a man" theories, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the WNBA would have flagged it decades ago. Sports at this level are heavily regulated.
Griner has won three Olympic gold medals (Rio, Tokyo, and Paris). Every single time, she passed the eligibility requirements for women’s competition. There is no conspiracy here; she’s just an elite athlete with a specific set of physical traits.
Facts over Friction
- Birth: Born Brittney Yevette Griner on October 18, 1990, to Raymond and Sandra Griner.
- Athletic Career: 1st overall pick in the 2013 WNBA draft.
- Medical History: There is no record of her being transgender or intersex; she has always identified as a cisgender woman.
- Public Advocacy: She uses her platform to fight bullying precisely because she was targeted for her appearance as a kid.
It’s easy to get caught up in the "what if" of a viral tweet. But when you look at the actual timeline—the birth records, the high school volleyball career, the NCAA dominance at Baylor, and her life as a mother and wife—the narrative falls apart.
People struggle with things they can't easily categorize. A $6'9"$ woman who dunks and wears suits doesn't fit the 1950s idea of a lady. But that doesn't make her a man. It just makes her Brittney Griner.
To get the full picture, you can look into her latest book, Coming Home, which touches on her resilience after the Russian ordeal. It’s a better use of time than scrolling through baseless theories about her biology.
👉 See also: Boxing on Sky Sports: Why the Game Changed After the Matchroom Split
Next Steps for You
- Verify sources: Stick to reputable sports news outlets like ESPN or official WNBA profiles when looking up athlete biographies.
- Support the sport: The best way to understand the diversity of female athletes is to actually watch the WNBA and see the range of body types and playing styles.
- Look for the "Why": When you see a "shocking" headline about a celebrity's gender, ask yourself if the source is a verified news outlet or a random account on X (Twitter).