The Misunderstood Britteny Griner

[Boom_70]

Cheery story from Karen Crouse on the lovable and misunderstood Britteny Briner- the center from Baylor who punched the girl from Texas Tech in the face.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/20/sports/ncaabasketball/20griner.html

Karen seems to specialize in these redemption stories.

 

[D-3 Fan]

Good grief. I know she's a girl, a freshman, and a freaky good hoops player. It doesn't excuse the fact that she slugged that Tech player (though Griner was chicken-winged by that chick). She served her punishment and Baylor can advance to the Sweet 16.

 

[heyabbott]

2 games for breaking a nose? Since when is Gary Bettman the AD at Baylor?
Nice to know that Baylor is a New Age Christian School, not one of those eye-for-eye nose-for-nose old school Christian Schools.

 

[poindexter]

Jeré Longman contributed reporting from Berkeley, Calif.

Jeré Longman is the NY Times' go-to person for women's college fighting redemption stories.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/18/sports/soccer/18soccer.html

 

[old_tony]

Jeré Longman contributed reporting from Berkeley, Calif.

Jeré Longman is the NY Times' go-to person for women's college fighting redemption stories.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/18/sports/soccer/18soccer.html

Longman knows about fighting on the court ever since Peter Vecsey popped him and broke his nose during an off-day hoops game at the 1990 NBA Finals at the Palace.

 

[Den1983]

Griner's good for the game. I'm really interested to see if she ever reaches her ceiling as a player. That would be pretty scary.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Worth a nomination for the Dan LeBatard Award for athlete apologists ...

 

[Della9250]

Set a tournament record with 14 blocks tonight. Old mark was 11.

 

[HanSenSE]

Set a tournament record with 14 blocks tonight. Old mark was 11.

And if it was the same announcing team on the WWL that they had Saturday for the Fresno State game, she's all they talked about the whole game. Dreadful.

 

[gingerbread]

Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but this doesn't seem like the typical redemption story or apology for an athlete gone bad. I think it's a fascinating look at a freakishly good athlete who spiraled into the public view because of the punch.
And to tell the story, Karen talked to a pretty diverse group of basketball icons (Michael Cooper, Nancy Lieberman, Bill Russell), and they all offered interesting anecdotes. There was none of the typical "athlete comes from a poor background" or "athlete was never given a chance" hogwash that generally completes a redemption story.

 

[Boom_70]

Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but this doesn't seem like the typical redemption story or apology for an athlete gone bad. I think it's a fascinating look at a freakishly good athlete who spiraled into the public view because of the punch.
And to tell the story, Karen talked to a pretty diverse group of basketball icons (Michael Cooper, Nancy Lieberman, Bill Russell), and they all offered interesting anecdotes. There was none of the typical "athlete comes from a poor background" or "athlete was never given a chance" hogwash that generally completes a redemption story.

With very few quotes about how wrong it was to punch opponent in the face. How about some quotes from Kermit Washington or Rudy Tomjanovich.

This story is consistent with the work of Crouse - The lovable Tank Johnson and his gun collection, Ricky Manning and his tolerance.

 

[zagoshe]

Britteny Griner should have been suspended for the rest of the season.

The fact that she wasn't speaks volumes about what is wrong with the women's game - the need to try and sell tickets always trumps fairness and doing what is right.

 

[heyabbott]

Britteny Griner should have been suspended for the rest of the season.

The fact that she wasn't speaks volumes about what is wrong with the women's game - the need to try and sell tickets always trumps fairness and doing what is right.

I don't think the weak suspension is endemic to the women's game, I think it's endemic to society, writ large. It's the lack of sure, swift and significant punishment for transgressions. As a society we've become so willing to accept a press release as an apology, issue some pro forma punishment and then move on, that we've lost what it means to accept responsibilty. Those repsonsible for transgressions simply suffer little penalty. Those attempting to continue to hold Griner repsonible for breaking the bones in another girl's body are told to **** off, Brittney is a young girl and has moved on, so should you. Personally, I beleive this started with Ronald Reagan. He took responsibilty for Iran-Contra, without punishment or consquences.

To see how it should work, check out Olympic Hockey. No fights. no game misconducts, just a clean almost elegant sport. Why? Screw up and you're out. If you are banned from the next game, that could mean the rest of the season/tournement. Imagine the penalty for charging out of the batters box towards the pitcher for a high and tight pitch would be a 25 game suspension.

Punishment need not be cruel but it should be enough to make the next person think twice or three times before punching another player in the nose. Missing 2 inconsequential games for Griner not only is weak for her brutal and thoughtless act but it's not enough to make the next person stop and think before acting similarly.


BTW in Crouse's story how many times was the victim mentioned? Her present condition? How many games she missed?

 

[RickStain]

I don't think the weak suspension is endemic to the women's game, I think it's endemic to society, writ large.

I am not going to sit here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America! Gentleman!

 

[Azrael]

What sort of punishments were handed out for college men who did likewise?

 

[zagoshe]

What sort of punishments were handed out for college men who did likewise?

Honestly - I can't remember the last time a male player hauled off an sucker punched someone in the face and broke a nose and all that.

 

[dreunc1542]

What sort of punishments were handed out for college men who did likewise?

Honestly - I can't remember the last time a male player hauled off an sucker punched someone in the face and broke a nose and all that.

The only thing I can think of is LeGarrette Blount for Oregon, punching the player from Boise at the beginning of the college football season last year. He received 10 games suspension for the incident. Granted, beyond throwing the punch, he generally went crazy making things worse for himself.

 

[beardpuller]

Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but this doesn't seem like the typical redemption story or apology for an athlete gone bad. I think it's a fascinating look at a freakishly good athlete who spiraled into the public view because of the punch.
And to tell the story, Karen talked to a pretty diverse group of basketball icons (Michael Cooper, Nancy Lieberman, Bill Russell), and they all offered interesting anecdotes. There was none of the typical "athlete comes from a poor background" or "athlete was never given a chance" hogwash that generally completes a redemption story.

With very few quotes about how wrong it was to punch opponent in the face. How about some quotes from Kermit Washington or Rudy Tomjanovich.

This story is consistent with the work of Crouse - The lovable Tank Johnson and his gun collection, Ricky Manning and his tolerance.

This is a story about the phenomenon of Britteny Griner, which includes the fact that she punched another player in the face. It is not a story about the fact that she punched another player in the face, how that happened, etc.

 

[zagoshe]

What sort of punishments were handed out for college men who did likewise?

Honestly - I can't remember the last time a male player hauled off an sucker punched someone in the face and broke a nose and all that.

The only thing I can think of is LeGarrette Blount for Oregon, punching the player from Boise at the beginning of the college football season last year. He received 10 games suspension for the incident. Granted, beyond throwing the punch, he generally went crazy making things worse for himself.

Ten games was about right for both incidents......

 

[Azrael]

Blount was after the game, following a verbal insult from another player. Also, football.

We need basketball; heat of the moment (after opponent tried takedown); first offense.