Brittney Griner (right) and Kim Mulkey share a moment at Baylor. AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez Brittney Griner has been wrongfully detained in Russia for 8 months on drug charges. Her college coach, Kim Mulkey, has not commented on her former star’s plight since her February arrest.
When asked about Griner on Monday, Mulkey insisted “you won’t” hear her speak about the situation. Brittney Griner has been wrongfully detained in Russia since February. And in the 222 days since the WNBA great was arrested at a Moscow airport, her Hall of Fame college coach has refused to offer public support for her former superstar.
Kim Mulkey — the longtime head coach of Baylor women’s basketball who now coaches the LSU Tigers — has consistently avoided speaking about Griner’s plight ever since the Phoenix Mercury star was first taken into custody for traveling into the country with hashish oil in her luggage. Griner behind bars in Russia. Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool/AP PhotoAfter Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison, Insider repeatedly tried to contact Mulkey for comment via LSU women’s basketball.
But after several attempts to reach her by phone and by email, it became clear that the three-time national championship-winning coach had no intention of expressing her thoughts on a player who led her team to one of those NCAA titles. On Monday, Mulkey stepped to the microphone ahead of the Tigers’ first practice of the upcoming season. Cory Diaz of The Lafayette Daily Advertiser asked for her thoughts on Griner’s situation, noting that he “hasn’t seen anything” from the coach regarding her former star player.
“And you won’t,” Mulkey said, cutting him off. —Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) September 26, 2022Several of Mulkey’s former Baylor players — including Queen Egbo and Chloe Jackson — spoke out after learning of their college coach’s curt response. Other women’s basketball stars have since taken to social media to discuss the importance of choosing college coaches wisely.
But when reached for comment after Mulkey’s press conference — and the backlash that followed — a representative for LSU women’s basketball directed Insider to a portion of a 15-minute radio interview with the head coach from late June. In the clip, Mulkey says “I keep up” with developments on Griner but won’t “make public comments about it” because “that’s a personal issue. “”You just want everybody to come home safely,” Mulkey added.
“I pray for Brittney. I want her home safely. I think there’s lots of people speaking out on her behalf and those of us who don’t necessarily speak publicly about it certainly are praying for her.
“Mulkey (right) and Griner during a 2013 press conference. AP Photo/Tony GutierrezRepresentatives for LSU women’s basketball did not share the interview with Insider when asked for comment about Griner’s sentencing in August. At the time, Baylor women’s basketball told Insider “we continue to pray for her ongoing strength and safety throughout her detainment” and “remain hopeful of the day she will again set foot on US ground.
“On Monday, around the same time Mulkey told fans they “won’t” hear from her about Griner, current Baylor head coach Nicki Collen spent a full five minutes discussing the eight-time WNBA All-Star’s predicament and what she’s meant to the program Collen now leads. “Those who have been around me know I get pretty emotional,” the former Atlanta Dream coach said. “BG, first of all, is human first.
And I think this is a human rights issue. “I see her as a mother, as a sister, as a spouse, as a daughter, as an unbelievable ambassador for the game of basketball,” she added later. “She made Baylor a household name.
“—Matt Lively (@mattblively) September 26, 2022 During her four years playing under Mulkey in Waco, Texas, Griner had a tumultuous relationship with her fiery head coach. The 6-foot-9 center, who is an out lesbian, butted heads with Mulkey over publicizing her sexuality while at Baylor — a school that famously considered “homosexual acts” a punishable offense until 2015. Griner went public with her grievances shortly after leaving school for the WNBA.
In a 2013 bombshell story written by then-ESPN reporter Kate Fagan, Griner explained that Mulkey’s move to dissuade her star from discussing her sexuality “was a recruiting thing” because “the coaches thought if it seemed like they condoned it, people wouldn’t let their kids play for Baylor. “Now a writer for Dan Le Batard’s Meadowlark Media, Fagan revealed in a May 2021 interview on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz that Mulkey tried to get her fired from her job at ESPN for writing the story. Fagan even went as far as calling Mulkey one of the scariest people in all of sports.
Mulkey during her first season at the helm for the LSU Tigers. AP Photo/Derick Hingle”Kim Mulkey is my dark horse for person in sports that you never want to cross,” Fagan said. “She might not even be the dark horse.
“She might just be the No. 1 person in sports that is terrifying. “Read the original article on Insider.
From: insider
URL: https://www.insider.com/kim-mulkey-brittney-griner-russian-detainment-no-comment-baylor-star-2022-9
