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Brittney Greiner will forever be immortalized in Baylor Bears history.
The women’s basketball team retired Griner’s No. 42 jersey on Sunday at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas, clearly a special moment for one of college basketball’s greatest players.
Griner clasped a hand over her mouth as a banner bearing her jersey number appeared, then clapped her chest and kissed the crowd as fans clapped for her.
“I’m just full of emotion,” Greiner told ESPN during the Bears’ game against Texas Tech. “As soon as (the jersey) started going up, that’s when it started falling apart.”
Baylor’s current coach, Nikki Collen, stood next to her wearing a gold jacket with Griner’s number 42 on the back and Nike sneakers with numbers on the toes. The two hugged during the pre-game ceremony.
According to reporter Tyler DeLucaGriner’s former Phoenix Mercury coach Sandy Brondello, who currently manages the New York Liberty, was also in attendance.
At school, there are posters with BG illustrations, No.42 T-shirt For the occasion. A “Dunk Like BG” contest will be held at halftime. Greiner also joined in the fun..
Greiner is the seventh women’s basketball player to have her number retired by Baylor.
“I am honored to return home to Baylor and celebrate where so much of my journey began,” Greiner said in a statement when his jersey retirement ceremony was announced last month. “I am grateful to Coach Nikki (Colen) and the entire Baylor community and am looking forward to the opportunity to return to campus to spend time with the team and have my family by my side to share in this great moment. Sic ‘Em Bears .”
The Bears won the NCAA championship in 2012, Griner’s junior year, after a perfect 40-0 season. Greiner averaged 23.2 points, 9.5 rebounds and 5.2 blocks. She was named National Player of the Year by multiple news outlets and was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament after recording 26 points, 13 boards, and five blocks in the title game.
Griner scored 3,283 points in her four-year career, good enough for fifth in women’s basketball history. She finished with 748 blocks, the most in the NCAA for both men and women.
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After dropping out of college and joining the Mercury as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft, Greiner had a strained relationship with Baylor. Current LSU basketball coach Kim Mulkey, who coached Greiner at her Big 12 school, reportedly told her to keep her sexual identity secret. Griner married his wife, Sherrell, in 2019.
In 2022, Greiner was arrested in Russia and detained for nearly 10 months after authorities found e-cigarette cartridges in his luggage at the airport. Ms. Mulkey largely remained silent as she and WNBA and U.S. government officials lobbied for her release.
Koren voiced support for Greiner after Mulkey chose not to comment on the situation.
“Knowing BG, knowing her and being around her, she’s a big kid,” Koren said at the time. “To know her is to love her. Honestly, she is one of those people who exudes joy.”
When Collen was hired to replace Mulkey in 2021, she contacted Greiner with the goal of retiring the jersey.
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