“Woke” women’s basketball player Brittney Griner has been snubbed by her college coach, Kim Mulkey, while the WNBA star sits in a Russian gulag.
Griner played for Mulkey at Baylor where they won the national title.
But they had a falling out and Mulkey has stayed silent on Griner’s plight.
Mulkey, who is now the women’s basketball coach at LSU, was asked point blank about Griner by The Daily Advertiser’s Cory Diaz.
However, Mulkey refused to budge and snubbed the WNBA star by staying silent.
“I just want to get your thoughts on the Brittney Griner situation,” Diaz said.
“I don’t think I’ve seen anything from you on that and just…”
Mulkey cut off the reporter with: “And you won’t.
“I’ll answer the first one for ya.”
Really? pic.twitter.com/ISJGuhUImE
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) September 26, 2022
According to Yahoo:
“Griner, who turns 32 next month, played for Mulkey at Baylor from 2009-13. During Griner’s junior year, the Bears went 40-0 to win the national championship.
“Griner was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player, as well as earning AP Player of the Year and the Wade Trophy Player of the Year. She also won the Wade in 2013 before being drafted No. 1 overall by the Phoenix Mercury, with whom she’s spent her entire WNBA career.
“Mulkey and Griner had a falling out nearly a decade ago, and the star’s relationship with Baylor has been strained. Months before she was detained, Griner told ESPN she hoped to have a better relationship with her alma mater and see her jersey retired there one day.”
Mulkey was trashed on social media for the snub. One Twitter user said:
“A player that built Baylor, 2 national titles, & a 40-0 record. Yet her former coach refuses to say anything or simply just show any kind of support. Keep that in mind when you’re choosing schools.”
Current Baylor coach Nicki Collen’s statement:
“I just think about what it would be like to be away from my family for over 200 days.
“I think this is a humanitarian thing.
“We can argue about whether what she did is grounds for a trade for an arms dealer.
“I think there are a lot of arguments in play.
“I think what isn’t in play, in my mind, is that we shouldn’t be doing everything in our power to get Brittney home.”
FROM TODAY:
Nicki Collen was asked about Brittney Griner and she spoke about her for just under 5 minutes.This comes on the same day that @ByCoryDiaz asked Kim Mulkey about the situation and there was no comment. #Baylor | #SicEm | @KCENSports pic.twitter.com/C9wzFGN4fF
— Matt Lively (@mattblively) September 26, 2022
According to Just Women’s Sports:
Baylor women’s basketball issued the following statement when Just Women’s Sports reached out for comment on Griner’s conviction:
“With the unsettling news of the verdict and sentencing of Brittney Griner, we continue to pray for her ongoing strength and safety throughout her detainment.
“We recognize the extraordinary complexity of this situation, yet we remain hopeful of the day she will again set foot on U.S. ground.”
Baylor University put out a statement back in March when news of Griner’s detainment first became public, calling the news of Griner’s detainment “alarming.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with BG and her family,” the statement read.
“Right now, our foremost concern is for her safety and well-being during this difficult time in Russia and her eventual safe return to the United States.”
In July, the Baylor athletic department released a video in support of Griner, saying that the Baylor family “stands with Brittney” and that “it’s time to bring her home.”
Current Baylor coach Nicki Collen, who took over after Mulkey left for LSU in 2021, spoke out Thursday, writing on Twitter:
“Prayers for BG’s safety and a plan to bring her home soon! I didn’t get the chance to coach BG but I got to coach against her, see her heart for her others up close, and I coach every single day at a place that she helped make great.”
