Kim Mulkey on Brittney Griner's jersey retirement at Baylor: 'It's awesome'

Baylor is set to retire Brittney Griner's No. 42 jersey in a ceremony at its game against Texas Tech Sunday in the team's new arena, Foster Pavilion.

LSU women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey was the Baylor coach while Griner starred for the Bears from 2009 to 2013, remaining the NCAA leader in career blocks with 748 while scoring 3,283 points, which now ranks fifth all-time in women's basketball.

On Thursday, The Advertiser asked Mulkey for her thoughts on the retirement of Griner's jersey at Baylor ahead of the ceremonies.

"I think it's awesome," said Mulkey, who coached at Baylor from 2000-2021. "It's awesome. And I'm sure it'll be a great environment."

Mulkey and Griner accomplished a great deal together during their time as coach and player with the Bears.

Griner starred for Mulkey at Baylor and the pair won a national championship together to cap a remarkable and historic undefeated 40-0 season in 2011-12 and advanced to two Final Fours. Griner was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player in 2012.

While still coaching at Baylor, Mulkey had said that she felt it was requirement for a player to get their degree from the school to potentially retire any prospective player's jersey. When Griner left for the WNBA initially, she hadn't completed her degree but returned and did so in 2019.

It's been widely known that Griner and Mulkey's relationship has been estranged since 2013 as Griner's time at the school was coming to a close. Griner, who is open about her sexuality, has said that it was not because of Mulkey, but that she felt discouraged to disclose her sexual orientation while at Baylor.

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While Griner was detained in Russia from February to December of 2022, The Advertiser asked Mulkey for a comment of her former player's situation and she declined comment.

But after Griner's release, Mulkey told reporters that she was happy she was being released and returning home.

"God is good. Prayers are powerful. Brittney is on her way home where she belongs," Mulkey said at that time. "Our prayers remain with her and her family as they recover and heal together."

A few months after Griner's release and return last April, Mulkey said at the Final Four that she had not had contact with her former player.

Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU/UL athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: What Kim Mulkey said about Brittney Griner's jersey retirement