DALLAS — LSU coach Kim Mulkey has not spoken to Brittney Griner since the former Baylor star was freed from a Russian prison and returned to the U.S., but Mulkey did have a message for her former player.
“I’m glad she’s back,” Mulkey said at her Final Four news conference Thursday, a day before LSU faces Virginia Tech in the national semifinals. “I’m glad she’s safe, she’s sound. I think everybody is.”
Mulkey was criticized in September for not offering any words of support or encouragement for Griner, the three-time All-American and WNBA star who was arrested in February 2022 in Russia on drug-related charges and was later convicted and sentenced to nine years in a Russian jail.
“And you won’t,” Mulkey interrupted in the fall when asked for a reaction to Griner’s situation by a reporter who suggested the coach hadn’t weighed in.
After Griner’s release in December in a prisoner swap with Russia, Mulkey issued a statement through ESPN expressing relief over the news.
Baylor was the first 40-0 national champion when Griner was a junior in 2012. The Bears lost in the regional finals a year later. Baylor also made the Final Four when Griner was a freshman.
After her Baylor career, Griner came out. Days after she was the WNBA’s No. 1 overall pick by the Phoenix Mercury in…
