\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"False\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/rating-false.png\")
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In late July and early August 2025, a claim<\/a> (archived<\/a>) circulated online that the WNBA suspended basketball player Brittney Griner because it supposedly found out she’s a man.\u00a0<\/p>\n The claim spread widely on TikTok. One user posted a video with a caption misspelling Griner’s name, reading “Brittany Griner has been suspended from the WNBA for being a male!!!”<\/p>\n @king_millennial_ent<\/a> Brittany Griner has been suspended from the WNBA for being a male!!!#fyp<\/a> #breakingnews<\/a> #wnba<\/a> #brittanygriner<\/a> #suspension<\/a> #trending<\/a> #fyp\u30b7<\/a> #viral<\/a> #imnotsuprised<\/a> #foryoupage<\/a> \u266c original sound – King Millennial Entertainment<\/a><\/p>\n The claim also circulated on Facebook<\/a> (archived<\/a>), Instagram<\/a> (archived<\/a>), X<\/a> (archived<\/a>) and YouTube<\/a> (archived<\/a>). Snopes readers wrote in to ask if the claim was true.<\/p>\n We found no evidence that the claim about Griner’s sex or her status in the WNBA was true.\u00a0<\/p>\n The claim circulated around the same time as another false<\/a> claim that the WNBA would introduce “sex testing.” Days after the claim started circulating in late July 2025, a match official ejected<\/a> Griner from a game against the Dallas Wings, sparking speculation about a possible suspension<\/a> though the WNBA had not publicly confirmed this.\u00a0<\/p>\n The footage<\/a> some social media<\/a> posts<\/a> used to prove the alleged suspension was 11 years old and not related to Griner. We found no<\/a> reputable<\/a> news<\/a> outlets<\/a> reporting the claim, which would have been hugely newsworthy if true (archived<\/a>, archived<\/a>, archived<\/a>, archived<\/a>). Given the above, we rate this claim false.<\/p>\n We reached out to the WNBA, Griner’s team (the Atlanta Dream) and Griner’s agent to ask whether the claim was true and await replies to our queries.<\/p>\n Griner told ESPN.com<\/a> in 2015 that speculation about her sex and gender was nothing new. Griner said she “got called a boy all the time” but had learned to laugh it off. “I’m just like, ‘I’m a girl, I’m in the right bathroom,'” Griner said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Reporting at the time and in 2025<\/a> used she\/her pronouns for Griner. In 2022 PolitiFact, a fellow signatory<\/a> of the International Fact-Checking Network’s Code of Principles, rated<\/a> a claim that Griner was a man “Pants on Fire,” the outlet’s equivalent rating for Snopes’ “False,” based on a lack of credible evidence.\u00a0<\/p>\n Regarding Griner’s claimed suspension, we found no credible outlets reporting this “news.” Additionally, popular videos that claimed to show NBA commissioner Adam Silver suspending or banning Griner actually used a video<\/a> from 2014. In that video, Silver announced<\/a> a lifetime ban for then Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling in response to racist comments the league’s investigation found he made during a recorded conversation.<\/p>\n Snopes has previously reported on claims involving Brittney Griner, including whether she faced a suspension<\/a> over comments about fellow WNBA player Caitlin Clark and whether she faced criticism<\/a> for kneeling for the national anthem.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSources<\/p>\n “Brittney Griner Had to Be Held Back From Ref After Getting Ejected vs. Wings.” SI, 31 Jul. 2025, https:\/\/www.si.com\/wnba\/brittney-griner-had-to-be-held-back-from-ref-after-getting-ejected-vs-wings.<\/p>\n Brittney Griner Suspended Wnba – Google Search. https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?sca_esv=78cfef7a28cb5e8a&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB1138GB1138&q=brittney+griner+suspended+wnba&tbm=nws&source=lnms&fbs=AIIjpHxU7SXXniUZfeShr2fp4giZrjP_Cx0LI1Ytb_FGcOviEreERTNAkkP8Y6EXltYTGWtrb4Tcmpawr1aVXRNn5Y-5GUIef4kKYoQxciaXtdkVadzgAxvGYJF-tR9h9MXN-CW02j4sEa3wGHVEZg7yA5kjK0yHGZCREHSlG9C7vxWfd5EVcnpphGr3JlqUKu15Uk2RXpBX70MmkDWcpZlnZsV3tjx8Tg&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiQ3tGkxvaOAxV6XUEAHXiHJg0Q0pQJegQIEhAB&biw=1920&bih=845&dpr=2. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.<\/p>\n Brittney Griner Suspended Wnba – Search News. https:\/\/www.bing.com\/news\/search?q=brittney+griner+suspended+wnba&FORM=HDRSC7. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.<\/p>\n Brittney Griner Suspended Wnba – Yahoo Search Results. https:\/\/uk.news.search.yahoo.com\/search;_ylt=AwrkLeWAe5No9gEAF89LBQx.;_ylu=Y29sbwNpcjIEcG9zAzEEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3BpdnM-?p=brittney+griner+suspended+wnba&fr2=piv-web&fr=yfp-t. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.<\/p>\n Brittney Griner Suspended Wnba at DuckDuckGo. https:\/\/duckduckgo.com\/?t=h_&q=brittney+griner+suspended+wnba&ia=news&iar=news. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.<\/p>\n Cercone, Jeff. “No, Basketball Star Brittney Griner Is Not a Man.” @politifact, https:\/\/www.politifact.com\/factchecks\/2022\/aug\/09\/facebook-posts\/no-basketball-star-brittney-griner-not-man\/. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.<\/p>\n CNN. “(Raw) NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Bans Donald Sterling.” YouTube, 29 Apr. 2014, https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vHCgmVikntw.<\/p>\n “Griner: ‘I Don’t Know What People Think I’m Hiding.'” ESPN.Com, 6 Jul. 2015, https:\/\/www.espn.com\/espnw\/article\/13176422\/phoenix-mercury-center-brittney-griner-opens-bares-all-espn-magazine-body-issue.<\/p>\n Liles, Jordan. “Rumors Spread about WNBA ‘sex Testing,’ Brittney Griner and Karoline Leavitt. Here’s the Truth.” Snopes, 4 Aug. 2025, https:\/\/www.snopes.com\/\/fact-check\/wnba-brittney-griner-karoline-leavitt\/.<\/p>\n “Risers and Fallers: Fiebich Trending up, Griner Struggling.” ESPN.Com, 1 Aug. 2025, https:\/\/www.espn.com\/fantasy\/womens-basketball\/story\/_\/id\/45880813\/fantasy-womens-basketball-wnba-risers-fallers.<\/p>\n “Sterling Receives Lifetime Ban, $2.5 Million Fine.” ESPN.Com, 29 Apr. 2014, https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/story\/_\/id\/10857580\/donald-sterling-los-angeles-clippers-owner-receives-life-ban-nba.<\/p>\n Zeigler, Cyd. “Brittney Griner’s Behavior Was Inexcusable. The WNBA Should Suspend Her.” Outsports, 31 Jul. 2025, https:\/\/www.outsports.com\/2025\/7\/31\/24116658\/brittney-griner-atlanta-dream-wnba-technical-foul-ejection-suspension\/. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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