BERKELEY, Calif. — Brittney Griner used to be known as the YouTube Girl for the way her impressive dunks as a high schooler went viral across the Internet.
There’s another video clip of Griner that has spread almost as quickly: The punch she threw at a Texas Tech player earlier this month that led to her suspension.
The start of her first NCAA tournament for Baylor today gives Griner a chance to rebuild her image as the 6-foot-8 shot-blocker who has the ability to transform her sport with an uncanny combination of size and athleticism.
“I would advise people not to judge me off that one incident,” Griner said Friday. “It will never happen again. I’ve learned from it. It will move along.”
The fourth-seeded Bears (23-9) take on 13th-seeded Fresno State (27-6) in a first-round game in the Memphis Regional. Fifth-seeded Georgetown (25-6) faces No. 12 seed Marist (26-7) in the other game at Haas Pavilion.
The focus in almost all of Baylor’s games this season has been on Griner, who became an Internet sensation with her dunks as a high school junior. She has only added to that her freshman year, becoming the seventh woman ever to dunk in a game and joining Candace Parker as the only players to do it twice in the same game.
But that quickly got overshadowed by an ugly altercation against Texas Tech on March 3 that has been replayed almost as much as her dunks. Griner got tangled up battling for position with Jordan Barncastle near the basket. As a foul was called on Barncastle, Griner straightened up and took two steps toward Barncastle before throwing a right-hand punch.
Griner apologized in a written statement the following day and was suspended for two games. She returned in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament and admittedly wasn’t herself as the Bears went on to lose to Oklahoma 59-54.
“I think she’ll get back to being the player that she was prior to the incident,” coach Kim Mulkey said. “But I don’t know if it will be tomorrow. I don’t know when it will be. You can’t help but be a little bit bothered by all the media attention that the incident caused.”
Griner calmly answered all the questions she faced in the locker room before taking the court for practice. She said she’s learned from her mistake and hopes it will provide a lesson to younger players about controlling emotions.
While not defending her actions, Griner explained that it’s a sign of how competitive the women’s game has become.
“A lot of people look at it as the women’s sport isn’t as competitive as the boys, so when something happens it’s more shocking in the women’s sport,” Griner said. “Really it’s just as competitive as the boys, as the men’s sports. I think people are starting to see that more. It’s not the right way that it’s coming out. But people are starting to see it’s just as competitive as the boys are.”
