The interesting thing about Griner's statement is that it didn't answer the question that everyone had. Lesbian? So what---except at Baylor, well, and maybe wherever Debbie Patterson coaches.
But, it is interesting that the loss of a key member of the 2005 title team wasn't explained to Griner. We had already seen the problems of being a lesbian affect Baylor.
You really have to be a devotee of conspiracy theories to say that Griner is a man---by definition in the State of Texas or NCAA. You would have to believe that her parents chose to identify her as a girl, knowing she was a male, almost at birth simply so she could enroll and play basketball at Baylor. Now, I wouldn't put a lot past Mulkey, but even she wasn't there are Griner's birth.
But, there is another issue that may become addressed due to the Olympics and international standards. We create a division called women's sports. We do that because we accept that women, by physiology and morphology, find it difficult to compete with men in sport, at least in sports requiring speed and strength. For years, we had problems with East Germans giving hormones to females to enhance their building of strength. We disqualified them. We even disqualify men for using steroids, even if those steroids can be produced via induction, apparently. But, there have always been women who manifest various levels of the influence of male hormones. For them, it is quite natural to have very masculine features, traits, and even voices. They are still female.
But, does that really fit with the idea that we define the category as being only for women because we are trying to give women an equal chance amongst themselves. Is it fair to let someone who has such strong masculine influence on development, affecting strength and agility, compete with other women as though they had equal opportunity? It kind of defies the reason that we separate men's and women's basketball, or gymnastics.
I don't have a clear opinion since I don't think the answer is clear. I think the Olympics are struggling with these definitions and how to measure them. Women who have always been considered women are now being disqualified. Confusing.
