Marty Maguire of SB Nation's Outsports summarized Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner's new memoir 'In My Skin', focusing on her experience at Baylor with coach Kim Mulkey and why she stayed despite feeling "deceived".
But one thing Maguire says was missing was a response to the public speculation about why she chose not to participate in the 2012 Olympics.
One area of the memoir I would have liked more insight, however, occurred when addressing the topic of forgoing the 2012 London Olympics. She acknowledges that there was speculation that she declined a spot on Team USA in order to avoid potential protests or challenges from other countries on the grounds of her gender. Griner writes:
"I have every intention of playing for the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil, if I'm selected for the team. And if some country wants to issue a challenge, bring it on. I don't have anything to hide. I'll do whatever I need to do, prove whatever point I need to prove, so I can play. And then maybe everyone will finally shut up."[...]
While Griner’s account of the decision leaves the reader satisfied that it was not made out of any fear of gender testing, I would have liked more thoughts on the public speculation.
For more details on the memoir check out the summary at Outsports and our Phoenix Mercury offseason storystream.