The University Baptist Church is sometimes called an "easy church" because the vibe is jeans and guitars instead of fire and brimstone and the congregation can eat donuts during the service. Robert Griffin III slid into a seat in the back of the auditorium so he wouldn't be a distraction at his college football game.
Sharyl Westloeung, who walked on stage and grabbed a microphone on a Sunday morning in December, was front of her mind when she was in college, but she did not attend the church.
She said that as many as you know, she is in Texas. It's something we're celebrating and spinning as a week of joy.
She told the people that there would be a celebration. The event was planned while the prisoner was in prison, but he was freed during a prisoner swap. The celebration held Monday night will be used to pray for Paul and other prisoners.
She said they would grieve over the way the world is.
It was the first time a public event was held in support of a person. She was going back to play for the club. Russian authorities said they found something in the woman's suitcase. Russia invaded Ukranian. The U.S. Department of State declared her "wrongfully imprisoned" by May. She pleaded guilty in a Russian court and denied that she intended to break the law. She was sentenced to nine years in prison in August.
In the nearly 10 months since her arrest, perhaps the most consistent public voice in Waco to express support for Griner has been the coach of the women's basketball team, who did not coach her but was not part of the staff that decided against retiring her jersey. The players of Collen's team had patches on their uniforms.
"Baylor's women's coach has used her own personal platform to give support and love to Brittany," West loeung said in an interview after the church service. That has not happened from an administrative point of view. Coming from a graduate of the seminary and having worked there, I wanted to see more of this Christian organization. To say, "OK, Waco still loves you", is the opportunity to do something. They still care about you.
Even if they don't do it, something needs to come out of this town.
A school spokesman sent an email with a timeline of 15 social media posts and school statements between March 5 and December 8 after an inquiry from the sports network. Some of the posts were from the Collen account.
"Baylor University operates under a 'one brand' approach," Fogleman wrote in an email. The University and athletics are both part of the same entity. The logo, colors and the name of the school we share are the same.
Baylor's women's basketball team is wearing a patch on their uniforms. The University supported this project.
On Friday, he posted on the social media platform for the first time in a long time. She was named an All-Star in a season in which she couldn't compete and thanked all the people who advocated for her release.
She will be celebrated by fans and supporters in her hometown of Phoenix when she returns to the Mercury. The league is a close knit group of people. It's not clear how she will be received after that. Will she be welcomed back to her country by her people? How will she be remembered? What has happened to one of its most famous former residents and what does she still mean to the community?
The cultural wars where anonymous social media accounts and cable news networks argue about marijuana, the prison swap for a notorious Russian arms dealer and her comments during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement are all caused by her.
"Griner is black, gay and was arrested on drug charges," West loeung said. There are people who are upset that there was a former Marine who was not brought home.
The ambivalence appears to be a reflection of the two cities.
In women's college basketball, there was no other player like the one who played in the title game. A month into her freshman season in 2009, she set a Big 12 record with 11 blocked shots and recorded her first triple-double in Bears' history.
It was like cutting down a tree with a butter knife. If you were a Lady Bears fan, you were certain the refs never blew their whistles for hacking and fouls. After getting called for a foul by Texas Tech's Jordan Barncastle, Griner threw a roundhouse punch, breaking his nose. The NCAA suspended her for a game after she was thrown out. She was suspended for an extra game.
When she was a kid in Houston, she was teased about her size because of her deep voice and flat chest, according to an interview she gave to the magazine. She felt like a freak. She said that dunking and basketball changed everything.
"Brittney was a famous person," said Dr. Greg Garrett. One of the first people to longboard across the campus was her. She had a big, goofy, joyful smile on her face as she went past. She was taller than everyone else on her board.
The Bears became the first team in NCAA women's history to finish a season with 40 straight victories. Eventually, UConn would match that.
Mulkey shook her hand and said something. The Lady Bears were knocked out of the Sweet 16 that year. A few days after the Mercury drafted her, she came out as gay.
Mulkey told players not to be open about their sexuality because it would hurt recruiting and cast the program in a bad light. The student handbook at the largest Baptist Christian school in the world contains a statement on human sexuality. The school says that marriage is between a man and a woman.
Temptations to stray from the norm include both heterosexual sex outside of marriage and homosexual behavior.
A group of alumni, faculty and students banded together to challenge school policies after the university allowed the Young Americans for Freedom to hold an event. Free speech should not be limited, giving a megaphone to some groups while denying others a voice. The school recognized its first gay student group.
According to one of the founding members of BU Bears for All, most people with ties to the school are in favor of moving forward on the issue of gay rights.
There is a very vocal and powerful minority of people who do not represent the broad and diverse community that is all of the alums and students and faculty at the school. "It is that minority, loud and powerful minority voice that we have seen be able to influence decisions at the school and that we have seen be able to influence the reality at the school."
One of the first athletes to come out was the basketball player, Griner. There was a year before Michael Sam. Her relationship with Mulkey fell apart when she moved to the NBA. Since then, they've been apart. Mulkey objected to passages in the book that suggested he was anti-gay. It was difficult for Mulkey and her family to hear that she was accused of that. She said it has nothing to do with sexuality and that players should consider how much they want to reveal of their lives.
Mulkey said his son was devastated when he saw what was painted of him. I go back to the people who worked for me, the people who played for me, the people who grew up with me. I don't think it fits me. I don't think anything I said would change their minds.
In September of this year, in a preseason session with reporters, Mulkey was asked about the situation of Griner, who is currently playing in the NBA. Mulkey said that the reporter wouldn't hear her thoughts publicly. Mulkey went on.
Around that time, the man thought about the reaction of the school to the situation.
He said that it felt like there was a lack of support for her.
He was on research leave in Europe when he saw the photos of her coming out of the Russian courtroom. It didn't seem like the person he knew from school. She appeared defeated and lost to him.
He thought about what the university he loves should have done. In November, he wrote a column for Baptist News Global.
The Russian immigrant who said it broke her heart that from the time she woke up in the morning, she wouldn't see a single human who looked like her replied to the column in a positive way.
The negative emails hurt.
"I'm a middle-aged white guy," he said. Nobody said, "Well, you shouldn't be saying this and you are a such-and-such." They told you not to defend her.
"Brittney touches so many of those boxes for people that there is a sense that we should have left her to rot, which was the sentiment I saw over and over in my inbox."
A man wearing a cowboy hat and selling cannabidiol oil at the Downtown farmers market in Waco is in close proximity to the tallest building in the city. It was featured in the show "Fixer Upper" which vaulted the couple and their hometown of Waco into the spotlight.
There are pros and cons to fame. The renovated houses around town have become rentals for tourists. The Shops at the Silos are a group of boutiques created by the famous TV couple. She is not opposed to the growth of the city. When the city was more like a town, she loved it even more.
"It seems that most people don't know anything about it because of a few things," Eric said. Either it's the Branch Davidians with David Koresh, or it's the other way around. There was a gunfight at Twin Peaks.
It used to be, "Hey, did you ever meet David Koresh?" Have you ever seen Chip and Jo?
Stay classy waco has Eric Huggins at the bar. He doesn't hear much discussion about the issue at the bar. It is deliberated over on social media.
Both Eric and Lisa said they were happy to have their son back.
Lisa said that nobody is right and nobody is wrong, so she tries not to speak on it. Is she right to have done what she did. It's probably not. Should she be imprisoned in Russia for the rest of her life? Absolutely not.
I don't know if they traded the right person. Politics is what it is. We have no say in what they do. I don't think I'll worry about it. She didn't deserve to rot in a Russian prison because she was home. She made a mistake.
A Trump flag was draped over the door of an apartment building in a neighborhood less than a mile from the campus. A few young adults pried open the door of the house with the giant sign that said "moms drink free" Their faces crinkled as they were asked about the man.
One of them said that they should not be talking about it.
He was studying next to the house. He was from California and didn't know about the player before he came to the school. He was happy to hear the news that she had been released.
He said she is part of the family.
There was a lot of debate about how much anyone should say. It could work against the U.S. government if they speak too much.
Entities who'd been in contact with the camp were given permission to express their support.
In the early 1980s, when she was a member of the Lady Bears, she believed that her university was behind her.
Gamble said that the U.S. government told them to keep in touch with their friends and family. I believe that not a single of us wanted to hurt the negotiations.
The people in my world are very supportive ofBrittney. Is it possible that everything in this country is different? I agree. I know of that. To not know that, you would have to live under a rock. In my world, the people that I listen to, the people that I hang around with, and the people that I text back and forth are all fans of the basketball player.
At the tip off club luncheon a week before Thanksgiving, the Lasagna and steamed vegetables had been eaten, and the speaker was Nicki Collen. Most of the women in the booster club are retired.
The group has access to a lot of college athletics. A donation of $300 to $600 gets you a seat at the luncheons. You can join the "Dream Team" if you land five thousand or more.
At their November lunch, held in a dining room at the football stadium, someone asked Collen a question and he asked the crowd to pray for him.
The crowd applauded.
A member of the club said that fans of the school loved her and worshipped her like a deity.
The booster said that the majority of people had positive things to say about the girl. They were hurt by the comments she made after leaving.
When she was a coach in the women's basketball league, she had a good relationship with Griner. Last year, when Collen got the job at the school, she received a hug from the man who made her famous. The Health Camp and the barbecue at Vitek's were recommended by her.
The last time they talked was in October of 2021. You don't know how important that is to me. I cannot wait for you to start.
In December of last year, while she was overseas, she seemed to be open to coming back to her alma mater.
"I've seen that special moment with a lot of my teammates and friends at their schools where they gave their all, of their body and of their time, and that's what I'm most proud of," he said. I met my wife at a college. It's in my family's history. I like the school and the city. It would mean a great deal to me. I would love it. My dad would do the same.
A new generation of women's basketball players have been inspired by the example set by the man. The second pick in this year's draft, NaLyssa Smith, grew up following the player and went to the school where she met her future husband. As a kid, Smith sat in the stands and held up signs.
Smith says that she reached out to him when he was at the school, telling him how well he was doing. She had a huge impact on my career.
She knows that Griner's jersey doesn't hang from the rafters of the center.
The honor of retiring the jersey was only given to players who got their degrees. She earned a bachelor of science degree in education. The coaching staff, athletic director and university president are no longer with the school.
In an interview last week, she said it's not her place to say if the wounds from the feud have healed.
She wants to retire the jersey of the player.
She stated that it will happen. It's going to happen if I am the coach.
There were 20 people at the University Baptist Church for Britney's coming home. Some of the people who were supposed to attend were sick, so they couldn't attend. The event was streamed.
A musician stepped to the front of the room and read a poem for someone else. More than a decade ago, when he was in high school, he volunteered with the basketball player. They were both tall, black and gay. People sometimes asked if they were related, and Griner looked over at her and rolled her eyes. He was impressed by the way she seemed to feel at home in a place where she was different. He was always rooting for her. He said their sister's home.
He showed up in a church. She was wearing a shirt with the name of the school on it. She said the news that Griner was going to play basketball was more emotional for her than the day he was released. She thought it meant that she was okay.
I wanted people to know we care, but I didn't coach her. The community cared and the basketball team cared. We did what we were supposed to do because she's home.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
