Brittney Griner has faced another bout of bullying on Twitter during the 2013 ESPY Awards last night.
Griner, the openly gay basketball player who currently plays for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), won the "Best College Athlete Award" on July 18.
However, despite her win, Twitter trolls bullied the athlete during the awards show, questioning her gender and tweeting that she should have been nominated for best male athlete as well.
One Twitter message read: "My pick for Best Male Athlete at tonight's #ESPYS? Easy, Brittney Griner."
The 32-year-old is no stranger to taunts and bullying. In a recent interview with LA Times, she recalled being called a dude by a boy at school when she was in seventh grade. "I just stood there and took it. I was humiliated. The whole school was laughing at me," she said.
"I was always taller, my feet were always bigger and my voice was deeper," she told the paper.
"When I was younger, it really bothered me to the point where I was like 'I don't even want to be alive; why am I getting treated like that?'" Griner said. "But as I got older, I started caring less."
After coming out in April this year, she revealed that she has been bullied on Twitter and message boards but that the bullies' venom has now lost most of its sting.
Griner is the newest face of WNBA and has already secured a deal with Nike. She was the first NCAA player to score 2000 points and block 500 shots.
AP named Griner its 'Player of the Year' and the 'Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four' in 2012.
