In the years following their time together at Baylor, Kim Mulkey and Brittney Griner have enjoyed a less than harmonious relationship.
When Griner was detained in Russia in 2022, Mulkey declined to comment in support of her former player, making it clear that she wouldn’t be addressing Griner’s situation.
Now, a new report from the Lafayette Daily Advertiser regarding Washington Post writer Kent Babb’s much-discussed feature story on Mulkey alleges that the longtime head coach may have punished one of her players at LSU for publicly backing Griner.
Mulkey caused a stir prior to the release of Babb’s article back in March, calling it a “hit piece” and threatening to sue the Washington Post if they “published a false story about me.”
The actual article Babb wrote was relatively tame, but the Lafayette Daily Advertiser has obtained e-mail correspondences between the Post and LSU officials in the month leading up to its publishing. The exchanges detail other topics Babb intended to address in his piece but didn’t.
Among them was an accusation that an LSU player was disciplined for supporting Griner during her stint in prison.
In Babb’s e-mail, he wrote “an LSU player was disciplined as a result of screenshotting and sharing a social media message of support for Griner during Griner’s detainment.”
That was not part of the published story. The Advertiser was unable to confirm whether an LSU player was disciplined and the school declined to comment.
The basis for the rift between Mulkey and Griner centers around how the former Baylor star says she was treated in college because of her sexuality.
“When I was at Baylor, I wasn’t fully happy because I couldn’t be all the way out,” Griner told ESPN’s Kate Fagan in 2013. “It feels so good saying it: I am a strong, Black lesbian woman. Every single time I say it, I feel so much better.”
Griner said she felt pressured to remain in the closet while a member of the BU program under Mulkey, and Fagan alleged in 2021 that the coach tried to get her fired from ESPN because of the story.
The last public comments Mulkey made regarding Griner came back in February when the Phoenix Mercury star and 2012 NCAA champion had her jersey retired at Baylor.
“It’s awesome,” Mulkey said. “That’s awesome. I bet it’ll be a great environment.”
Related: Kim Mulkey Gives First Public Comments After Washington Post Article