Yahoo Sports
Last December, several major professional sports leagues were called to Congress to testify on their efforts to combat domestic violence. The proceedings grew heated, with NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent becoming emotional over his own experiences as a child, and more than one accusatory exchange between public officials and representatives of the sport.
One league that was not brought before Congress: the WNBA.
Four months later, on April 22, one of the nation's most celebrated women's basketball players, Brittney Griner, was arrested after an altercation with her fiancée, Glory Johnson, who also plays in the WNBA. Both suffered minor injuries, including bite marks and a bloodied lip, according to the police report, which classified it as a domestic violence offense. Griner acknowledged the seriousness of the situation, vowing, "it will not happen again." She pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, and began 26 weeks of domestic violence counseling.
Two weeks later, her overseers have not yet meted out any punishment, nor have they censured the behavior.
Reached by Yahoo Sports on Monday, both the WNBA and USA Basketball said they were still investigating the matter. "The WNBA's investigation into the incident involving Brittney Griner and Glory Johnson is ongoing," was the statement relayed by spokesman Ron Howard – the same statement released a week ago. USA Basketball has not even spoken with the players involved. "We've got training camp right now," spokesman Craig Miller said by phone on Monday. "That's the priority right now."
So it's hard to see how an investigation is moving forward.
There is a risk here of conveying a double standard that domestic violence isn't worth punishing harshly when only women are involved. Although it has only been two weeks since the arrest, Griner has already pleaded out and any inertia on the part of the WNBA and USA Basketball shouldn't be excused. Every league needs to hold to a better societal standard.
"The fact that she's already taken the plea, I don't think it's a legitimate reason for a delay," said Nicole Ford, a longtime domestic violence attorney based in San Francisco. "To say we're still gathering evidence, she took a plea, that's her admitting it happened. They're protecting their trademark, their brand. That's more important than anything."
Last December, several major professional sports leagues were called to Congress to testify on their efforts to combat domestic violence. The proceedings grew heated, with NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent becoming emotional over his own experiences as a child, and more than one accusatory exchange between public officials and representatives of the sport.
One league that was not brought before Congress: the WNBA.
Four months later, on April 22, one of the nation's most celebrated women's basketball players, Brittney Griner, was arrested after an altercation with her fiancée, Glory Johnson, who also plays in the WNBA. Both suffered minor injuries, including bite marks and a bloodied lip, according to the police report, which classified it as a domestic violence offense. Griner acknowledged the seriousness of the situation, vowing, "it will not happen again." She pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, and began 26 weeks of domestic violence counseling.
Two weeks later, her overseers have not yet meted out any punishment, nor have they censured the behavior.
Reached by Yahoo Sports on Monday, both the WNBA and USA Basketball said they were still investigating the matter. "The WNBA's investigation into the incident involving Brittney Griner and Glory Johnson is ongoing," was the statement relayed by spokesman Ron Howard – the same statement released a week ago. USA Basketball has not even spoken with the players involved. "We've got training camp right now," spokesman Craig Miller said by phone on Monday. "That's the priority right now."
So it's hard to see how an investigation is moving forward.
There is a risk here of conveying a double standard that domestic violence isn't worth punishing harshly when only women are involved. Although it has only been two weeks since the arrest, Griner has already pleaded out and any inertia on the part of the WNBA and USA Basketball shouldn't be excused. Every league needs to hold to a better societal standard.
"The fact that she's already taken the plea, I don't think it's a legitimate reason for a delay," said Nicole Ford, a longtime domestic violence attorney based in San Francisco. "To say we're still gathering evidence, she took a plea, that's her admitting it happened. They're protecting their trademark, their brand. That's more important than anything."
