A few hours before tipoff on Thursday, The Athletic published a story<\/a> in which 15 former players demanded that Griffith face \u201cmeaningful accountability, not a token disciplinary measure.\u201d They alleged that Griffith, a Columbia alum herself, has created \u201ca culture of emotional and psychological abuse\u201d since she was hired in 2016. (At least one of the 15 players was part of the original complaint.)<\/p>\n Specifically, some of the former players alleged that Griffith had kicked players out of practice and the locker room, made players sit in a chair facing a corner as punishment for mistakes in practice, called players \u201czeros in life,\u201d told Spanish-speaking players not to speak Spanish to each other, and created pressure to play through injuries.<\/p>\n As part of the external review, the law firm spoke with 50 people associated with the program, including former players. But some of the 15 former players who spoke to The Athletic said they were not among those interviewed.<\/p>\n During her suspension, Griffith was allowed to participate in all team activities except for games. In her stead, associate head coach Tyler Cordell led the team during games. Cordell has worked with Griffith for 15 years, including four years together<\/a> on the Princeton staff and Griffith\u2019s entire tenure at Columbia, and Griffith told reporters days before the season began that they sometimes finish each other\u2019s sentences.<\/p>\n \u201cI trust her more than anybody to take this,\u201d Griffith said on Oct. 29. \u201c\u2026 She\u2019s family to me. So even when this \u2026 all happened, I had no doubts she\u2019d be ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n Griffith told Cordell not to try to be exactly like her. Instead, she wanted Cordell to follow the blueprint they\u2019d created for the program but put her own spin on things.<\/p>\n Griffith helped prepare Cordell by having her coach more in practice from the sidelines \u2014 Griffith\u2019s usual role. In turn, Griffith did more one-on-one teaching on the court than she normally would and helped instruct the scout team.<\/p>\n \u201cShe has been phenomenal in letting me into the game planning, not just this year, but for the last 10 years,\u201d Cordell told the Columbia Daily Spectator<\/a> after the season opener. \u201c\u2026 She\u2019s done a really good job of preparing me for it, and then our players have just been great support in letting me do it my way.\u201d<\/p>\n Cordell and the Lions went 3-0 during Griffith\u2019s suspension, with a 6-point home win over Davidson followed by double-digit victories over Rhode Island and Belmont in Nashville, Tennessee.<\/p>\n \u201cShe should just take my job,\u201d Griffith joked on Tuesday, after sitting out all three games.<\/p>\n In the Davidson win, the Lions had trailed by as many as 9 points in the second half, but they weren\u2019t rattled.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have our head coach right now, but you saw our entire staff step up and win a huge game for us,\u201d junior forward Mary Ashley Stevenson<\/a> told the ESPN+ broadcast postgame. \u201cWe have already had adversity that other teams haven\u2019t had in their season, and so we know that when we hit adversity, we are more than equipped to hit back. And \u2026 today was a perfect example of that.\u201d<\/p>\n Griffith did not travel with the team to Nashville or participate in the practice between the games there. She told reporters on Tuesday that it was difficult for her not to coach the three games, but she\u2019d tried to prepare herself as much as possible for that, just like she prepares herself and her players for games normally.<\/p>\n Listen now to The IX Sports Podcast and Women\u2019s Sports Daily On Thursday, Griffith returned for the Lions\u2019 game against Michigan, the highest-ranked opponent<\/a> in program history. She said she\u2019d scheduled the game \u2014 as part of an exceptionally difficult nonconference slate<\/a> \u2014 because \u201cif you want to be really good, you\u2019ve gotta take risks.\u201d<\/p>\n Griffith was excited to coach her team in a game again, she said afterward. And it was meaningful to her that several alums, including at least five recent captains, were in attendance. Since her suspension was announced, some alums have defended her vigorously on social media<\/a> and to the Columbia Daily Spectator<\/a>, and the current players released a statement<\/a> on Oct. 15 supporting their coach.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery player that I\u2019ve ever coached here means a tremendous amount to me, and to have all those players here that won a championship with us \u2026 that means a lot,\u201d Griffith said.<\/p>\n But once the ball was tipped to start the game, she said, everything felt normal again. She was just a coach competing for a marquee nonconference win.<\/p>\n The Lions played Michigan even for the first five minutes, showing poise against the Wolverines\u2019 pressure defense and working the ball around the court. Michigan used a 10-0 run late in the first quarter to create some separation, but the Lions cleaned up their transition defense in the second quarter and trailed by only 10 points at halftime.<\/p>\n In the third quarter, the Wolverines widened the gap, and they eventually led by as many as 29 in the fourth quarter. But Columbia dug in late in the game and cut the lead to 21 on a 3-pointer by junior point guard Mia Broom<\/a> with a minute left. \u201cGreat execution,\u201d Griffith told her players partway through the run, clapping her hands.<\/p>\n \u201cWe knew that coming here was going to challenge us, playing on their home court, playing an experienced team,\u201d Michigan head coach Kim Barnes Arico told reporters postgame. \u201c\u2026 I thought it was a great basketball game. The score might not be too indicative of that, but I thought it was a really good game.\u201d<\/p>\n Overall, the Lions shot just 32.8% from the field, compared with 49.2% for Michigan. Senior guard Riley Weiss<\/a> was the only Columbia player in double figures, finishing with 23 points on 7-for-18 shooting.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had shots that weren\u2019t falling, and \u2026 we gotta be able to finish those,\u201d senior guard Fliss Henderson<\/a> told reporters postgame. \u201cBut there [were] moments of Columbia basketball, and it was really good. And for us, the focus wasn\u2019t necessarily on the score, but it was [on], that was a look we wanted, or that was a stop we wanted.<\/p>\n \u201cI will say a lot of the game wasn\u2019t Columbia basketball, and that\u2019s when they were going on their runs, especially that third quarter.\u201d<\/p>\n Through it all, Griffith was there on the sidelines, encouraging or getting on her players depending on the situation. Her voice was sometimes audible from across the court, over the considerable noise from the crowd of 2,506 fans, and her players were locked in on her for play calls and during stoppages.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re really, really happy to be back with her, and I think we picked up where we left off with her,\u201d Weiss told reporters postgame. \u201cYeah, just super grateful to have her back on the sidelines leading us.\u201d<\/p>\n Midway through the third quarter, Broom turned the ball over in the backcourt and Michigan guard Olivia Olson<\/a> cashed in with an and-one. A media timeout came between Olson\u2019s layup and her free throw, and Griffith and her staff quickly pulled Broom aside before addressing the full team. Griffith had her whiteboard out and talked Broom through breaking Michigan\u2019s press again.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the game ballooned a little bit in that third quarter, we forgot they were pressing because now it\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, we gotta go,\u2019\u201d Griffith said postgame. \u201c\u2026 So I was saying to Mia, I was like, \u2018What are they doing still?\u2019 I wanted to make sure she understood. And she knew. She knew; she just wanted to make something happen.<\/p>\n \u201cSo when you have a fiery point guard like Mia \u2026 you gotta just talk them through the game plan. \u2026 I thought she did a great job resetting and coming back. It\u2019s just hard when you\u2019re in the moment and you can\u2019t stop the game.\u201d<\/p>\n SheScores is the women\u2019s sports scoreboard, making it easy to follow women\u2019s sports with scores, schedules and where to watch \u2014 all in one place.<\/p>\n After the game, Henderson and Weiss took questions from reporters, and then Griffith did her own press conference alone. When Weiss was done answering her final question, a Columbia Athletics staff member asked Weiss and Henderson if they were all set. Henderson paused for several seconds, then decided she had more to say.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore I leave, I just want to make a statement about Coach Griffith,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Henderson talked about how Griffith had taken a program that was one of the worst in Division I and made it a perennial winner<\/a>. She said she and her teammates take pride in playing for a winning program, and they have to work very hard to keep it that way.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s tough. The standard is high,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd something in our program we pride ourselves on is we work hard, we play hard and we love hard. And one thing I\u2019m gonna say about [Griffith] and about our entire coaching staff is they love us so much. And \u2026 having her back today, we felt that love the entire time. \u2026 I just want you guys to know that.\u201d<\/p>\n Several minutes later, a reporter asked Griffith whether the external review and suspension would make her reevaluate her coaching style.<\/p>\n \u201cI love my players,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m gonna keep loving them.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n \t![\"Several](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/gallery_image-e1794609935790-1024x654.webp\")
Columbia associate head coach Tyler Cordell (left, in navy) and the bench react during a game against Rhode Island at Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tenn., on Nov. 6, 2026. (Photo credit: Columbia University Athletics | John Wilkinson)<\/p>\n
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Columbia guard Riley Weiss (24) shoots a fadeaway jumper during a game against Michigan at Levien Gymnasium in New York, N.Y., on Nov. 12, 2026. (Photo credit: Columbia University Athletics | Tiffany Luke)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/SheScores-Logo-Clean-2.png\"){kind=logo}
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\nFinding the game shouldn\u2019t be the hardest part<\/p>\n