Why did Baylor wait so long to retire No. 42 for Brittney Griner? Feud with Kim Mulkey at center of schism

David Suggs

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Why did Baylor wait so long to retire No. 42 for Brittney Griner? Feud with Kim Mulkey at center of schism image

Brittney Griner will finally get her due.

The Mercury star has been in the spotlight since her collegiate days, owing to her swashbuckling, rim-rattling style at Baylor.

Griner, one of the greatest college basketball players ever, embarked on an unprecedented run of success in Waco. Equal parts offensive dream and defensive nightmare, the 6-8 stalwart led the Bears to the 2012 national championship, capping off a season in which she won every major individual honor, including AP Player of the Year and Final Four Most Outstanding Player.

With a trophy cabinet filled with hardware — Griner captured more than a dozen achievements while shining for Kim Mulkey’s team — it’s hard to believe that Griner wasn't already immortalized in the rafters.

Since leaving Baylor in 2013, Griner waited to receive the call that her number would be retired. After over a decade of waiting, that call finally came.

MORE: Kim Mulkey-Brittney Griner controversy, explained

Griner’s uniform will finally be lifted to the heavens Feb. 18, the university announced Monday. Baylor will retire Griner's number during Baylor's Big 12 clash with Texas Tech. She'll become one of just seven Bears players to have their numbers immortalized at the school, joining such stalwarts as Odyssey Sims and Nina Davis in receiving the distinction.

The fact that Griner's excellence will be celebrated for centuries to come isn't particularly surprising. The fact that it took this long to make it happen is puzzling.

The Sporting News explains why the Bears' all-time leading scorer wasn't recognized for her on-court successes sooner.

Why did it take so long for Brittney Griner to have her number retired at Baylor?

From 2009-2013, Griner was a vortex of basketball wizardry. She dunked. She blocked shots. She rose like red oaks to bring down rebounds. Every time she rumbled down the floor, it seemed as if the ground shook.

Her accomplishments during that tenure glisten. She is the NCAA's career leader in blocks (748). She also sits fourth all-time in points (3,283). Production-wise, few in college basketball history — men or women — can step to Griner.

Griner won two Wade Trophies, given to the nation's best player. She was thrice named the Big 12's best talent. And her defense was world-class — Griner was recognized as her conference's best player four times in four seasons.

It was the sort of resume fit for immediate enshrinement into the hallowed walls of the Ferrell Center. And yet, that didn't happen. Why?

Well, Griner had a falling out with former coach Kim Mulkey. The eccentric tactician — who now leads the line at LSU — reportedly cultivated an environment where Griner felt discouraged from coming out while she was at the school.

"I already knew the answer," Griner told ESPN's Kate Fagan in 2013. "I didn't want to hear 'No.' It was a recruiting thing. The coaches thought if it seemed like they condoned it, people wouldn't let their kids play for Baylor."

Griner said she never explicity asked Mulkey about coming out. Griner added she wasn't "fully happy" at Baylor because she couldn't be herself.

"When I was at Baylor, I wasn't fully happy because I couldn't be all the way out," Griner told ESPN. "It feels so good saying it: I am a strong, Black lesbian woman. Every single time I say it, I feel so much better."

MORE: Exploring stats, All-Star appearances, championships & more for Griner during professional career

Griner and Mulkey's feud resurfaced in recent years, especially as folks tried to figure out just why Mulkey failed to offer a public endorsement for Griner's return to the country after she was held in a Russian prison for months for allegedly having hashish on her.

The most Mulkey could mete out was a canned statement vaguely honoring Griner for her on-court displays a decade ago.

“Brittney Griner represented Baylor University proudly on and off the basketball court, and she leaves behind an incredible legacy. I cannot comment on personal matters surrounding any of our student-athletes, but I can tell you Brittney will always be a celebrated member of the Baylor family.”

Mulkey's standing in the college game knows no bounds. Her handling of complex subjects, like Griner's detainment and homosexuality in sports, has left a lot to be desired.

It was Mulkey, after all, who said the following to Outsports' co-founder Cyg Zieler during a presser:

"Outsports: "Have you ever had a gay player on your team?"

"Kim Mulkey: "Don't ask me that. I don't ask that. I don't think it's anybody's business. Whoever you are. I don't care to know that."

Ultimately, it seems, it took Mulkey's exit for the ties to be for restrung between Baylor and Griner.

Current Baylor head coach Nicki Collen was a huge advocate for Griner's formal exaltation as one of Baylor's greatest-ever talents, repeatedly alerting anyone who would listen that Collen wanted Griner's No. 42 to hang in the rafters.

"I have been saying this since I arrived at Baylor that she deserves to have her jersey retired, and I wanted to make sure that happened when the timing was right," Collen said in a statement. "With the opening of Foster Pavilion and the WNBA offseason fitting into our season, this seemed like the right time to honor Brittney and welcome her back home.

Collen and Griner will get their wish come Feb. 18. So too will the legions of Bears fans who witnessed Griner perform miraculous deeds on the basketball floor a decade ago.

"I'm honored to return home to Baylor and celebrate where so much of my journey started," Griner said in a statement. "I'm grateful to Coach Nicki [Collen] and the entire Baylor community and looking forward to the opportunity to be back on campus, spend time with the team and have my family beside me to share in this incredible moment. Sic 'Em Bears."

David Suggs

David Suggs Photo

David Suggs is a content producer at The Sporting News. A long-suffering Everton, Wizards and Commanders fan, he has learned to get used to losing over the years. In his free time, he enjoys skateboarding (poorly), listening to the likes of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and D’Angelo, and penning short journal entries.