LarBrd33:
Seriously?
She's going to dominate the WNBA.
I bet he will.
Ok, Ok... I'll shut up. Griner will be rich soon enough so I can't really feel all that bad.
You know, honestly... the comments are unavoidable when you look and sound like that... and clearly are physically different than your female peers. I do apologize to the many hermaphrodites on this forum who may be offended by the comments. Get use to them, though... because the more famous Griner gets, the louder the comments will become. A National title, fame and fortune in the pros will all just fuel the controversy. I'm telling you that you WILL be hearing more of it.
Here's the thing. If Griner was born a hermaphrodite, it is perfectly within the rights of her family to choose what sex they want to distinguish her. It's a private thing. It's nobody's business. Jamie Lee Curtis has been dogged by these rumors for years. Frankly it can not and will not be proven either way. It's her business. In many cases the person doesn't even know the truth themselves, because they undergo surgery as children and their parents keep it from them to avoid embarrassment or feeling "different". It doesn't become a problem until other athletes start claiming the male characteristics provide an unfair advantage. Look up Caster Semenya....
"She's" the African middle distance runner who won gold in the World Championships. Following her victory there was a huge controversy over her gender and she was subject to gender testing.
Following her victory at the world championships, questions were raised about her gender.[2][13][19][20]
The IAAF's handling of the case spurred many negative reactions. A number of athletes, including retired sprinter Michael Johnson, criticized the organization for its response to the incident.[16][21] Prominent South African civic leaders, commentators, politicians, and activists characterized the controversy as racist, as well as an affront to Semenya's privacy and human rights.[22][23] The IAAF said it only made the test public after it had already been reported in the media, denying charges of racism and expressing regret about "the allegations being made about the reasons for which these tests are being conducted."[15][24] The federation also explained that the motivation for the test was not suspected cheating but a desire to determine whether she had a "rare medical condition" giving her an unfair competitive advantage.[25] The president of the IAAF stated that the case could have been handled with more sensitivity.[26] In an interview with South African magazine YOU Semenya stated, "God made me the way I am and I accept myself." She also took part in a makeover with the magazine.[27]
On 7 September 2009, Wilfred Daniels, Semenya's coach with Athletics South Africa (ASA), resigned because he felt that ASA "did not advise Ms. Semenya properly". He apologized for personally having failed to protect her.[28] Athletics South Africa President Leonard Chuene admitted on 19 September 2009 to having subjected Semenya to gender tests. He had previously lied to Semenya about the purpose of the tests and to others about having performed the tests.
The test results supposedly leaked out (I say supposedly, because apparently they were never made public due to the controversy and sensitivity... she was never stripped of her gold) and the leaked results showed she had no ovaries or womb and had more than 3 times the amount of testosterone as a normal female... being produced by internal male testes. In other words she was "intersex"
This condition, known as intersex, is commonly referred to as hermaphroditism. (Some support groups say that the term "hermaphroditism" can be inaccurate and offensive, as it implies that someone is both fully male and fully female, which is a physiologic impossibility.)
According to the Intersex Society of North America, (ISNA) intersex is a "general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn't seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male."
"For example, a person might be born appearing to be female on the outside, but having mostly male-typical anatomy on the inside," a statement on the society's Web site says.
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There are around 20 to 30 types of biological "intersex" conditions, each of them affecting the body in different ways.
Some people are born with both male and female reproductive organs, while others like intersex activist Hida Viloria are born biologically female yet possess masculine-looking genitalia.
Others have a form known as Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS) where the person is totally insensitive to any male hormones known as androgens.
FIrst of all, her results were never made "official", but they were reported throughout the media back in 2009 before the whole thing was buried. Questions about Caster's privacy and the testing methods all were raised. Personally I see no reason to NOT believe that Caster has intersex characteristics. Think about this for a second. The number of babies born with atypical male/female bodies is 1-100. "If you ask experts at medical centers how often a child is born so noticeably atypical in terms of genitalia that a specialist in sex differentiation is called in, the number comes out to about 1 in 1500 to 1 in 2000 births. But a lot more people than that are born with subtler forms of sex anatomy variations, some of which won’t show up until later in life."
http://www.isna.org/faq/frequencySo think about this for a second. In a world with 7 billion people... even if 1 in 10,000 "females" were born with male characteristics (testosterone, internal male testes, etc) doesn't it stand to reason that these "females" would have a better chance of excelling in "female" sports due to their physical characteristics? Is it really all that unbelievable that a "female" like Caster is dominating her female competition and happens to be someone with these unique characteristics? No... not unbelievable at all. It's like saying it's "unbelievable" that a guy with a pituitary disorder (that causes you to continue growing) would end up in the NBA. Clearly that's not unbelievable... Gheorghe Mureșan had an extremely rare medical condition that caused him to grow to 7'7... 7'7 people have an advantage in the NBA. It's not unbelievable it's actually completely understandable. I know several other international players have "gigantism"... Pavel Podkolzine is another NBA player off the top of my head who suffered from the same pituitary disorder. Once again it's not surprising at all that professional wrestlers Andre the Giant and "The Big Show" both had the same pituitary disorder. Nothing shocking or surprising about it.
It's not surprising that multiple people born with dwarfism end up in show business. It's not surprising that multiple people born with gigantism end up playing professional basketball or end up as professional wrestlers... and it's not surprising that folks born with intersex characteristics (who choose to be designated as female) would have an advantage in female-only sports.
I don't think it's outlandish, rude, insensitive or classless to point out that Brittney Griner has very male characteristics. Honestly I think it's somewhat ignorant and naive to ignore them. I personally don't give a crap if Griner is allowed to dominate women's basketball and continue to go on as a woman. Personally, in this uber-sensitive wha-wha offended society, I don't give a crap if Chauncey Billups decides to have a sex change and joins the WNBA. I think they should let her in. I happen to be friends with a proud transsexual post-op stand-up comedian in Seattle and we all refer to him as "her"... if she wants to join the WNBA, so be it. But lets call a spade a spade here. Something is very likely up with Griner.
Topic: Could Brittney Griner be the WNBA's savior? (Read 19701 times)