Women's National Basketball Association
(WNBA) star Brittney Griner will be honored Saturday for her work
promoting LGBT rights.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the
nation's largest LGBT rights advocate, will give its Visibility Award
to Griner during its annual Houston Gala.
The former Baylor University center has
been a vocal supporter of LGBT rights since coming out in 2012.
“I am very fortunate, in this stage
of my life, to be valued for my skills on the court = judged not on
who I am but on how well I play the game,” she recently told LGBT
group Texas
Wins. “That’s the standard all of us – gay, straight, or
transgender – should be held to in every job we have. Everyone
deserves an equal shot at success and no one should be fired based
simply on sexual orientation or gender identity. As a native Texan,
I am glad to see the new non-discrimination policy and education work
Texas Wins is doing to ensure that top talent, no matter who they
are, has the same opportunity to pursue the American Dream.”
Griner, now with the WNBA's Phoenix
Mercury, was the WNBA's top draft pick in 2013.
(Related: WNBA's
Brittney Griner, Glory Johnson engaged.)