Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner
described coming out gay to her mother at Saturday's 24th
Annual GLAAD Media Awards in San Francisco.
The 22-year-old Griner, a former Baylor
center star who was twice named AP Player of the Year, recent came
out publicly.
At Saturday's awards, Griner said she
has been out since the ninth grade.
“I came out to my mom first. My mom
was … it was cool. It was pretty weird. Sat on the stairs, she
sat in her room. I was like, 'Mom, got to tell you something.' Came
out, told her, she was like, 'I love you.' I was like, 'Alright,
well I'm going to go play some video games.'”
“I just wish that everybody's coming
out is like that. Not everybody has that smooth coming out. But
once you do it, it's like a light came on on me. On the inside,
around me, everything. I felt like I was Brittney Griner, like I was
who I am now. I wasn't hiding any more.” (The video is embedded
on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
(Related: Adam
Lambert at GLAAD Media Awards: Love ties generations.)