Brittney Griner is currently serving a nine-year prison sentence in Russia after being convicted of drug possession and smuggling. In the eyes of many, this sentence is a massive injustice that needs to be fixed immediately. The United States is looking into a prisoner swap, but for now, nothing is set in stone.
Most of Griner's former teammates have spoken about this injustice, except for her former Baylor Coach Kim Mulkey. Today, Mulkey was asked directly about Griner's imprisonment, to which she said that she would not be commenting on the story, at all.
This was a pitiful response when you consider how Griner helped Mulkey win a National Championship while also bringing her to two final fours. Her career at Baylor was phenomenal, and Mulkey owes much of her success to the WNBA champion. Queen Ego, a former Baylor player, commented on Mulkey's remarks, noting that it is pretty despicable.
"A player that built Baylor, 2 national titles, & a 40-0 record," Egbo wrote. "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."
Interestingly enough, the current coach for Baylor Nicki Colleen had a much better answer when asked about Griner. As you can see, Colleen noted that Griner means a lot to the Baylor program and that she sees Griner as a human first. Colleen also believes 10 years is way too long for a simple mistake of this magnitude.
"No one’s saying she didn’t make a mistake. None of us are perfect," Colleen said. "But I guess I would wanna know if I did something and was stuck in a foreign country, what it was, 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 spouse, as a daughter, as an unbelievable ambassador for the game of basketball.”
Griner's Phoenix Mercury were instrumental in the efforts to get her home and we're sure they will continue that fight.
Stay tuned to HNHH for updates on this developing story.