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4 There is good and bad in sports.
Then there is the ugly, which was on display this week in Lubbock.
In case you haven’t seen — or heard about — the video of Baylor women’s basketball player Brittney Griner sucker punching Texas Tech’s Jordan Barncastle, you should look it up on YouTube.
That was just the bad.
The ugly happened Thursday when Griner’s mandatory suspension of one game for her ejection was extended by one game by Baylor women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey.
You read that right.
Griner is suspended for two games for sucker punching an opponent.
What makes this worse was that Big XII Commissioner Dan Beebe issued a statement saying that he accepted Mulkey’s decision, which was appropriate based on the severity of the act.
He’s joking, right?
I am afraid not.
Texas Tech issued a statement also Thursday, saying Barncastle suffered a broken nose and her status will be evaluated day-to-day. She could miss the rest of the season.
To make sense of all this, Griner sucker punches a player, consequently breaking the other player’s nose, gets slapped on the wrist with a two-game suspension and it’s considered appropriate?
Griner commits a Class A misdemeanor and gets an additional one-game suspension on top of her mandatory one-game suspension and it’s OK?
It’s not OK, it’s a joke.
If Barncastle wanted to press charges, and she could, Griner could be charged with assault causing bodily injury, a crime punishable by up to one year in jail and a maximum fine of $4,000.
I don’t think Griner should lose her scholarship or be kicked off the team, but a season long suspension is the proper punishment.
I might be opening up a can of worms here and probably comparing apples and oranges, but in comparison, Gracy Mansfield and Heather Greene were dismissed from the Bastrop girls soccer team for an alleged outburst after a loss to Westlake nearly a month ago.
In this comparison, however, it’s two different coaches on two different levels of play handing down punishments they see as appropriate.
In the case of Mansfield and Greene, there was no physical violence in the alleged altercation, according to some of the recounts of the event I have been told.
None of the other players suffered broken bones and no one was ejected from playing, yet because of this alleged verbal altercation with their teammates, Mansfield and Greene were dismissed from the team.
Something doesn’t quite seem right.
Griner is a college athlete who is an adult and getting her education paid for. She got caught up in the moment, physically assaulted another player and got a two-game suspension.
Mansfield and Greene are high school students, therefore minors and held to a lower level of responsibility for their actions, and are not under a scholarship.
They got caught up in the moment and let their emotions get the best of them, but got an expulsion.
With this comparison there are two different coaches, levels of play and philosophy with disciplining players, but one infraction was much more severe than the other.
Again, might be apples and oranges, but where is the standard?
Bastrop’s athletic policy on drugs, for example, gives offenders three strikes before they are not allowed to participate in athletics.
On the first offense, the athlete that tests positive only gets a three week suspension, according to the Bastrop ISD Athletic Handbook.
Griner punches a player, committing a crime, and has to sit for what adds up to a week.
Mansfield and Greene throw what could be labeled a temper tantrum and gets thrown off the team.
Bottom line here is that there are major inconsistencies with the expectations regarding conduct of athletes and the punishments enforced.
Obviously, neither infraction has to do with each other and Bastrop is not punishing Griner and Baylor isn’t punishing Mansfield and Greene.
However, by comparison one punishment is viewed as not severe enough and one might be viewed as too severe.
The point in all this ramble is there is a contradiction on the standard in which athletes are expected to behave and on what levels and the punishment they deserve.
Bottom line: does the punishment fit the crime?
It’s a fair debate.
Here is a link to video of Brittney Griner’s punch on Texas Tech’s Jordan Barncastle.
Following this story through these posts has been rather interesting, after reading them again and again, I have to feel as Cyd, Jacob Freeman, Michael Adams and others believe, this has been a punishment that did not fit the crime, in my opinion the can of worms that have been opened up is not just about the suspension but about BISD athlectic policies and procedures. Who does the coach and AD answer too, is anyone from BISD asking them what happened.
Geez Adams.. just let it it go. the last regular season is tuesday. why must you continue to bring it up? there are other sports at bastrop going on right now. baseball, softball, boys/girls track and field.. Golf, Tennis.. why don’t you do some reporting on them. Stop gossiping about things you don’t know about and REPORT about Facts.. like wins, loses, era, personal best on track, homeruns, steal, stirkeouts, and birdies.. give the other sports their time in the paper… if you want to write about trash and gossip go work for TMZ..
ps. its not SUDDEN DEATH in soccer shoot outs.. if is it tie after 5 shooters its one and one until a team scores and one doesn’t… but they all get one turn in that one/one round.. SUDDEN DEATH.. means as soon as a teams scores in extra time.. GAME OVER! didn’t you watch the Olympic mens gold medal hockey.. the Canadians.. won in SUDDEN DEATH..
like some of the other posts have said” the green eyed monster prevails “
One thing I know about Michael Adams is that he is a very fair and professional journalist. I have worked with him in the past and one thing I respect about him is that he reports the bad with the good.
Michael is just doing his job reporting on this suspension, whether anyone believes it to be appropriate or not. The 1st amendment to the U.S. Constitution gives him the right. Yes, disciplinary records are supposed to be confidential and that was more than likely the intention, but all it takes is for one question to be asked to one parent and it gets out, even if it doesn’t come from the coach.
Truth is, this was going to get to the local media because it involved a star player. It’s not like it was going to go unnoticed that she was missing. Any good sports writer would have asked what happened. It’s their job. Best thing to do for players, coaches and parents is let the media do their job and not concern yourself with the paper’s reporting on your team.
The internet gives parents and players a new tool to stir up drama. As a coach, I can honestly say that parents are sometimes a bigger problem than any player’s attitude on the field. From what I can tell from all the comments on other stories, there are certain parents and players with a lot of animosity towards this one player. Maybe even jealousy perhaps. That’s the start of all problems on the field.
That all said, no player or parent has any business commenting on the facebook, message boards, twitter, myspace or on news stories about this situation or any player on their team. It reflects poorly on them, the team and the coach. It also causes more problems on the field.
Bottom line here is the coach had all the power in the world to stop this, in the stands and on the field. I don’t know the coach, but it is their team and when this kind of chaos happens, it reflects poorly on their ability to control their team. I have never seen a comment from the coach, and while it may seem like not commenting is the best thing to do, it sometimes does more harm than good.
I may not be aware of the situation with this particular case, but I have a firm belief that it’s the same problem that girls soccer coaches face all over the country.