The OU third baseman knows that when she slams the bat to the dirt, lets out a scream and waves her arms wildly following a walk — no matter how innocuous the situation may seem — that some outside of the Sooners’ program are not going to be happy.
That emotion has helped fuel Brito and the top-seeded Sooners’ run to the best-of-three Women’s College World Series finals against Florida State, which begins 7 p.m. Wednesday at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium.
OU has made a habit of reveling in successes, no matter how small. Brito and Jayda Coleman, who are two of the most fiery OU softball players, both said on Wednesday that they aren’t about to change, even if they face criticism.
“I’m going to stay being who I am and stay true to who I am, and if that passion that I have offends anyone, it’s just kind of like, ‘OK, I’m not going to allow anyone to kind of change my game,” Brito said.
OU coach Patty Gasso said there’s also a double standard in how women who show outward emotion during games are treated vs. male athletes who act similarly.
“One thing I’ve told these guys is … you must be unapologetic about the energy and the celebrations that you have because women have worked so hard to get here, yet still get judged for those things,” Gasso said.
“That’s the way we play, and that’s what people enjoy. Or you don’t. You either like it or you don’t, but we’re not going to apologize for these players knowing the game and celebrating it the right way.”
Still, OU’s celebrations don’t sit right with some — particularly fans of other programs — and they have made their opinions known, especially on social media.
“Also Alyssa Brito may be the most annoying player I’ve ever seen on tv in any sport tbh,” one person wrote on Twitter this week.
There are plenty more, including after Jayda Coleman celebrated her intentional walk in the ninth inning of Monday’s semifinal game against Stanford, just before Tiare Jennings delivered the tie-breaking two-run double.
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