"I let my emotions get the best of me in a heated situation. I take full responsibility for my actions."
That apology is from November, when New Mexico's Elizabeth Lambert was suspended indefinitely after a series of rough plays, including pulling an opposing player down by her ponytail in a Mountain West Conference soccer tournament game against BYU.
"I let my emotions get the best of me and I am deeply sorry for my actions." That is the beginning of Baylor star Brittney Griner's statement after her punch broke Texas Tech's Jordan Barncastle's nose last Wednesday in her team's 69−60 win. The situation, the apology and even the reaction are all strikingly similar to Lambert's, with one major difference: the punishment.
While Lambert was removed from the team, Griner was suspended for two games, one mandated by the NCAA and a second added by Baylor for good measure. Well, that was not enough.
Assuming the Bears win their first− round game in the Big 12 Tournament Thursday, Griner will be back on the court Friday, barely a week after violently attacking an opposing player on the court. This sends the message loud and clear: Baylor is more worried about winning games than conduct on the court.
It is obvious that Baylor is not the same team without Griner's 19 points, 8.8 rebounds and six blocks per game. And to be fair, Griner is just a freshman playing in her first year of college ball, and she came onto campus as somewhat of a celebrity, a 6−foot−8 dunking sensation and YouTube.com legend. She might feel entitled to act however she wants without any consequences. That is why Baylor's inability to make her take real responsibility for her actions is deplorable.
What would be so bad about suspending Griner for the rest of the season? So, you probably don't go all that far in the NCAA Tournament. While the team would suffer, one would hope that such a decision would at least show Griner something. Plus, she has not even finished one year at Baylor, so it is not like she cannot come back next season, when she would hopefully be mature enough to remember that basketball is a physical game that involves a little back and forth.
Instead, Baylor seems to be telling Griner that her conduct, while not acceptable, is not that serious. Coach Kim Mulkey has insisted that Griner is a "gentle giant" and that she is remorseful. Sure. As they say in "Tommy Boy" (1995), "I can get a good look at a T−bone by sticking my head up a bull's ass, but I'd rather take a butcher's word for it." I'd love to believe she is remorseful. After all, she is just 19 years old; I'd like to think that if I pulled a similar stunt, someone would say the same thing about me.
But come on. Realistically, Griner will barely have time to even let her actions sink in before she is back on the court. If you ask me, Baylor should have given her the LeGarrette−Blount treatment. The former Oregon back was suspended after throwing a punch at Boise State's Byron Hout in his team's season−opener. But after missing eight games of his senior season, he proved to coach Chip Kelly that he was mature enough to be reinstated. He hurt his own draft stock and his team, but he probably came out a better person for it.
The sad thing is, this space could have been reserved for lauding the accomplishments of Geno Auriemma's Connecticut Huskies and their record 71st straight win on Monday night. Instead, I ended up talking about a black eye on the game, not its new gold standard.
It isn't easy for women's sports to get the recognition they deserve. All too often it is for the wrong reasons, as seen in the case of Lambert and Griner. I'm sorry to say, but Baylor's treatment of this predicament just adds to that assessment.
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Ethan Landy is a senior majoring in English. He can be reached at ethan.landy@tufts.edu.
