CNN
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Kim Mulkey, who coached Brittney Griner at Baylor University for four years, has been criticized for refusing to comment on her former player’s detention in Russia at a media conference earlier this week.
One journalist began asking Mulkey, “I just want to know what you think about Brittney Griner’s situation. I don’t think I’ve seen anything from you about that,” but was cut short by the sudden reply from the Louisiana State University coach, now Louisiana State University, “and you won’t.”
Many were outraged by Mulkey’s apparent lack of sympathy for the pro basketball star’s situation.
Former Baylor center queen Egbo tweeted, “A player who built Baylor, two national titles and a 40-0 record. Yet their former coach refuses to say anything or even show any kind of support. Keep that in mind when choosing a school.”
Egbo’s former Baylor teammate Chloe Jackson also tweeted: “And I’ll say it again. SILENCE SPEAKS VOLUMES, smh.”
While Mulkey has remained fairly quiet publicly about her former player, she did open up about Griner on Tiger Rag Radio in June.
“Like you, I keep up with the national media,” Mulkey said. “I’m not making any public comments about it. I think that’s a personal issue you just want everyone to get home safe.
“I’m praying for Brittney. I want her to get home safely. I think there are a lot of people speaking out for her, and those of us who don’t necessarily speak out about it are certainly praying for her.”
Griner and Mulkey had incredible success together at Baylor University. That included a 40-0 season in Griner’s junior year, during which she was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player, as well as AP Player of the Year and Wade Trophy Player of the Year.
In her four years at Baylor, Griner propelled the team to 131 wins, four sweet 16s, three elite eights, two Final Fours and one national title. Griner broke the NCAA record for blocks, earned the rank of top athlete, and sealed her place as arguably the greatest player in college history.
In 2013, Griner came out as a lesbian, saying Baylor wanted her to keep quiet about it.
“It was a recruitment thing,” Griner said in an interview with ESPN. “The coaches figured that people wouldn’t let their kids play for Baylor if they seemed to condone it.”
Griner later said in her autobiography that her criticism was not aimed at Mulkey but at the general culture at Baylor University.
Baylor is a private Baptist university in Waco, Texas that has a policy in its student handbook stating that sex should be restricted to heterosexual marriages.
In her autobiography, Griner wrote about her ambiguous relationship with the university.
She wrote, “I’d love to be an ambassador for Baylor to show my school pride, but it’s hard … I’ve spent too much of my life trying to feel like there’s something wrong with me.
“And no matter how much support I’ve felt as a basketball player at Baylor, it still doesn’t erase all of the pain I felt there.”
Baylor’s current head coach, Nicki Collen, was also asked about Griner’s situation this week.
“When I know BG, know her, be around her, she’s a big kid,” Collen said. “To know her is to love her. I mean, honestly, she’s just one of those people who exude happiness.
“I think BG is human first. I think this is a human rights issue. No one says she didn’t make a mistake. None of us are perfect.
“But I think I would want to know if I’ve done something and I’m stuck in a foreign country, what it was and what it wasn’t.
“I think we all know that 10 years is a long time. I see her as a mother, as a sister, as a wife, as a daughter, as an incredible ambassador for the game of basketball.”
Griner faces nine years in prison after being arrested for possession of cannabis oil in February. Their attorneys have appealed the decision, and President Joe Biden is working on a possible prisoner swap with Russia for Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan.
Baylor did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.