In the center of the WashingtonpostLSU’s piece on LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey focused on how she treated gay players.
While some former players have claimed Mulkey is not homophobic, at least one player says the coach “made my life hell.”
That player is former Baylor guard Kelli Griffin, who played for Mulkey for three years.
Why Griffin chose Mulkey’s Baylor and why her on-court career ended is listed on the player’s account — and leaves some questions unanswered.
Here, DailyMail.com highlights Griffin’s accusations against Mulkey from her time at Baylor University.
The Washington Post’s article about Kim Mulkey — an article she preemptively called a “hit piece” — was published just hours before her LSU Tigers played a game against UCLA
One of the former players interviewed by the Washington Post is ex-Baylor guard Kelli Griffin
Who is Kelli Griffin?
Kelli Griffin is from the Houston area and was a former player under Mulkey when she was the head coach at Baylor University.
Griffin chose the Bears over Duke, Stanford, Oklahoma and Texas A&M. According to her biography on the women’s basketball team page, she chose Baylor because of “the coaches, players and the fact that it is a great Baptist school.”
In her senior year at Baylor, she averaged 7.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game.
Griffin, 21, averaged 7.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists in her final full season at Baylor
When did she play for Kim Mulkey?
Griffin played under Mulkey at Baylor University from 2007 to 2010, reaching the Final Four once.
She admitted to the Washington Post, “Kim Mulkey is a great coach; the reason I went to Baylor is because of her.”
The Post even details an article Griffin wrote in seventh grade, in which she said she dreamed of leaving her hometown of Houston to play for Mulkey and the Bears.
When Griffin was in high school, he came out as gay — something she assumed Mulkey knew when she was recruited.
Griffin remembers Mulkey promising her mother “that Baylor was a ‘family’ and that she would protect Kelli.”
Griffin: “Kim Mulkey is a great coach; the reason I went to Baylor is because of her.”
What accusations has Griffin made?
Upon arriving on campus in Waco, Texas, Griffin says Mulkey began asking why she was “dressing like a boy” while wearing jeans, basketball shorts or sweatpants, saying things like “A lady is wearing a dress” .
Griffin considered a transfer, but chose not to after her friend Brittney Griner committed to the Bears.
Griffin (and another anonymous player) claims that Mulkey also quickly called players in when they arrived and told the team’s strength coach to perform weigh-ins for the team.
Mulkey’s lawyers responded to the Post, denying that she treated gay players “harder or differently.”
They also provided an affidavit from former Baylor player Morghan Medlock — who said she was in a relationship with Griffin — who claims she never saw Mulkey assault Griffin or any other gay athlete.
Griffin claims Mulkey questioned her clothing style when she arrived at school
Why did she leave Baylor?
The biggest statement that Griffin made was about the situation where she left the team her senior year.
In 2010 — a time when Griffin was the starting point guard on a team ranked second in the nation — she got into an argument at her home with an ex-girlfriend and a teammate.
After reporting the incident to Mulkey, the coach announced that Griffin was suspended indefinitely the next morning. The teammate who fought her was not punished.
When Griffin confronted Mulkey about why she was being punished, Mulkey responded that she was owed no explanation.
Medlock, who was dating Griffin at the time, provided a statement to the Washington Post through Mulkey’s lawyers, claiming that Griffin had been suspended for marijuana use. Griffin denies that drug use was the reason for her suspension and claims she did not use marijuana in college.
After this incident, Griffin says she told an assistant coach she wanted to transfer. But at the time, NCAA rules required her to be released before she could transfer to another school.
Days later, after an exhibition game, Baylor’s program released a statement saying that Griffin had left the team. It is not clear if Griffin played for another program after leaving the Bears.