Walk into any sports bar or scroll through a heated Twitter thread, and you’ll eventually run into the same old question. It's usually phrased exactly the same way: Is Brittney Griner a guy? It’s a question that has followed the 6'9" basketball star since her days dominating the court at Nimitz High School in Houston, Texas. Honestly, it’s a bit of a phenomenon. You've got one of the most decorated athletes in American history—two-time Olympic gold medalist, WNBA champion, NCAA standout—and yet a massive chunk of the internet is still stuck on her birth certificate.
Let’s be blunt. No, Brittney Griner is not a man. She was born female, identifies as a woman, and has spent her entire life navigating a world that doesn't quite know what to do with a woman who looks like her.
Why the is Brittney Griner a guy rumors won't die
The internet loves a conspiracy. It’s basically built on them. When you take a woman who stands nearly seven feet tall, possesses a baritone voice, and sports a physique that most linebackers would envy, people start reaching for "alternative" explanations. It’s simpler for some to believe she’s secretly a man than to accept that human biology is incredibly diverse.
She has a deep voice. Like, really deep. In a 2015 interview with ESPN, Griner admitted she used to hate the way she sounded. She’d hear herself on TV and cringe. But biologically, it makes sense. If you’re 6'9", your vocal cords and your thoracic cavity (your chest) are naturally larger than the average person's. Bigger pipes mean a deeper resonance. It’s basic physics, but on social media, it becomes "proof" of a hidden gender.
Then there was the 2022 detention in Russia. That whole nightmare brought the rumors back with a vengeance. Fake screenshots of CNN articles claimed Russian officials were demanding DNA tests to see which prison—male or female—to put her in. It was all nonsense. Pure fabrication. In reality, she was held at a facility specifically for women. PolitiFact and Snopes have debunked these claims more times than I can count. Yet, the "is Brittney Griner a guy" searches spike every time she makes a public appearance.
The "In My Skin" perspective
If you really want to understand the human side of this, you have to look at her 2014 memoir, In My Skin. She talks about being a "daddy's girl" who was constantly teased for being flat-chested and "sounding like a boy" in middle school.
Imagine being a teenager and having adults whisper about your gender while you're just trying to pass geometry.
Griner has always been open about her identity. She’s a lesbian. She’s gender-nonconforming in her style. She famously wore a white suit to the WNBA draft instead of a dress. But being a "tomboy" or having masculine features isn't the same thing as being a man. She’s basically spent her career telling the world, "This is my body, take it or leave it."
Misconceptions about WNBA eligibility
There’s this weird idea floating around that the WNBA just lets anyone play. Sort of like a "don't ask, don't tell" policy for gender. That’s just not how professional sports work.
The WNBA follows strict eligibility guidelines. If there were any legitimate question about her biological sex, it would have been flagged decades ago during her NCAA career at Baylor or through the rigorous physicals required for Olympic competition. People forget she has passed every drug test and physical screening the IOC and the WNBA have thrown at her for 15 years.
Height, hormones, and the "unfair advantage" debate
We see this a lot with Black women in sports. Think Serena Williams or Caster Semenya. There’s a historical pattern where women of color who don't fit a specific, delicate "Western" ideal of femininity get labeled as "masculine" or "manly."
- Height: 6'9" is rare for women, but so is 7'4" for men (shoutout Victor Wembanyama). We call one a "unicorn" and the other a "hoax."
- Musculature: Professional athletes have muscles. It's literally their job.
- Voice: Resonance is a product of physiology, not just testosterone.
Some critics point to "hyperandrogenism"—naturally high testosterone—which is a real thing in some female athletes. But even then, those athletes are biologically female. In Griner’s case, there hasn't even been a confirmed medical report suggesting she has elevated levels; people just assume it because she can dunk.
The human cost of the rumor mill
In 2025, Griner gave an interview where she mentioned that the constant comments about her voice feel like a "punch in the gut." It’s easy to forget there’s a person behind the highlight reels. She’s a wife, a daughter, and a teammate.
She’s faced more scrutiny than almost any other athlete of her generation. During her time at Baylor, she even had to keep her personal life under wraps because of the school’s strict policies at the time. She’s lived in a fishbowl where every inch of her body is picked apart by strangers on the internet.
Navigating the facts
If you're looking for the "truth," look at the evidence that actually exists.
- Birth Records: She was born Brittney Yevette Griner on October 18, 1990, to Raymond and Sandra Griner.
- Childhood Photos: Griner has shared photos of herself as a young girl, long before the fame and the "manly" labels.
- Professional Scrutiny: She has competed at the highest levels of international sport, which involve the most invasive medical screenings on the planet.
The "is Brittney Griner a guy" narrative is less about her and more about our own discomfort with women who break the mold. We like our boxes. We like women to look a certain way and men to look another. When someone like Griner comes along and shatters those boxes, the easiest reaction is to try and "solve" her like a puzzle.
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But she isn't a puzzle. She's a center for the Phoenix Mercury.
Moving forward, the best way to approach these discussions is to stick to the verified biographical data. Scrutinize the source of the "news"—usually, if it's a blurry meme or a TikTok with "O Fortuna" playing in the background, it’s not a medical document. Check official league statements or reputable biographies like her recent 2024 book Coming Home for the actual story. Use the time spent debating her biology to actually watch her play; her defensive timing is way more interesting than any conspiracy theory.