Brittney Griner — WNBA Star’s Former Baylor Basketball Coach Declines To Comment On Her 9 Year Sentence In A Russian Prison

Brittney Griner — WNBA Star’s Former Baylor Basketball Coach Declines To Comment On Her Nine-Year Sentence In A Russian Prison

Silence isn’t always the best option, at least when it pertains to Brittney Griner.

Louisiana State University women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey declined to comment on Brittney Griner — who has been detained in a Russian prison for more than five months — during a meeting with reporters on Monday (September 26). In response to being asked about the athlete, Kim Mulkey said,

“And you won’t.”

Really? pic.twitter.com/ISJGuhUImE

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) September 26, 2022

Brittney Griner was one of Kim Mulkey‘s top players at Baylor from 2009 to 2013. The two worked together to win the national championship and finish a historic 40-0 season in 2011-2012. The WNBA star received the Most Outstanding Player award at the Final Four that year.

Griner and Mulkey‘s relationship has reportedly been on the rocks since 2013, about the time the player’s tenure at the institution was coming to an end. Griner, who is open about her sexuality and married to a woman (Cherelle Griner), has claimed that, though Mulkey was not to blame, she felt reluctant to come out as a student at Baylor.

Since 2014, Griner has competed in the premier Russian women’s league, joining a long list of WNBA stars who have gone overseas during the league’s summer to increase their earnings because other leagues pay their players more.

As previously mentioned, Griner, 31, was arrested just outside of Moscow in March for allegedly bringing a vape pen with a cannabis cartridge through the airport. She was charged with drug smuggling and sentenced in August to nine years in prison. The Phoenix Mercury player has since filed an appeal and is reportedly anxiously awaiting word.

Griner‘s attorneys wasted no time filing an appeal following the sentencing on August 4, with formal papers for a hearing being delivered just 11 days later. Maria Blagovolina, one of her attorneys, told reporters the lengthy sentence was “absolutely ridiculous.” She said,

“Brittney is stressed and very much concerned with the future.”

While she has reportedly acknowledged that Russian appeals are historically unsuccessful, Maria Blagovolina added,

“We need to use every legal opportunity that we have, and appeal is one of these opportunities.”

What are your thoughts on the entire situation? Let us know in the comments!

[VIA]