The reason Brittney Griner is the sports story of the year, isn't solely because of her bravery while being "wrongfully detained" in Russia. It isn't just that she became a symbol of strength that unified large swaths of the sports world and beyond. It isn't just because of the love story that is her wife, Cherelle, who fought relentlessly to free her. It isn't only because of the success of American diplomacy that saw her as a human being and worked tirelessly to secure her release.
It is all those things but perhaps one of the biggest reasons Griner is the sports story of the year is because of what she still represents: the gender pay gap.