Timeout: Griner's lucky to have short suspension

There's no punching in basketball.
Okay - sometimes there is, but there shouldn't be. On March 3, it happened in a major way.
It all started when Jordan Barncastle of Texas Tech tangled with Baylor's Brittany Griner during a game.
Barncastle was called for a foul for locking Griner up and flinging her around. Good call.
But Griner decided she wanted to play referee herself and took it upon herself to throw a punch that broke Barncastle's nose.
Fouls are a natural occurrence during the course of a game. Punches are not.
Barncastle made a mistake during competition. Griner lost her head after the play ended.
The punishment? A two-game suspension.
Now before everyone starts screaming about the lax penalty, let's see exactly how it breaks down.
The NCAA requires a mandatory one-game suspension for this kind of incident. Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey decided to tack on an additional game for good measure.
Yup. That's the math. Two games.
No need for anyone to scream about the penalty. I'll do it for you.
Two games is a ridiculous slap in the face for a punch in the nose. I don't care what the deal is or how frustrated you get, breaking someone's nose as a result of a normal action in a game is unacceptable.
Griner has complained in the past that she takes a great deal of abuse as a post player. Sorry, sweetheart, but when you're one of the tallest players on the court and have an easy look at the basket, defenders are going to hit you.
She's also said that people have been less than friendly to her, making jokes about her height and appearance. That's certainly not the right thing to do on their end, but in the context of a college basketball game, it's also not the right place for you to air out frustrations in any other way than scoring.
But back to the suspension. Griner has already served half of it, sitting out against Texas Sunday. She'll be on the sidelines again tonight against Colorado as the Big 12 tournament kicks off.
Even if Baylor's regular season ends against the Buffs, the team will still have a shot at the NCAA tournament in a few weeks, and Griner's punch will be an afterthought.
As far as I'm concerned, this young lady should be riding the pine for the remainder of the season.
That way, she'll have plenty of time to realize the gravity of what she did and come back with a greater appreciation for the game.
I'm all about forgiving individuals for their mistakes, because I know they can happen at any time. Right or wrong, we've all lost our heads at the wrong time.
But there are consequences for those actions.
Unfortunately, Griner's two-game breather is no match for her mistake.