Baylor women’s basketball coach Nicki Collen spoke at length about former Bears standout Brittney Griner on Monday, calling her detention in Russia a “human rights issue.”

Griner was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony for drug charges in August, more than six months after she initially was detained at a Russian airport in February.

Collen spoke for nearly five minutes after being asked about Griner, who played for Baylor from 2009-13 under former Bears coach Kim Mulkey before becoming a star in the WNBA. Her comments came on the same day Mulkey declined to comment on Griner’s plight.

“Those that have been around me know I get pretty emotional,” Collen said. “I think BG, first of all, is human first. I think this is a human rights issue. No one is saying she didn’t make a mistake. None of us are perfect. But I guess I would want to know if I did something and was stuck in a foreign country and what it was, what it wasn’t — I think we all know that 10 years is a long time.”

While some have called out Griner for a seeming lack of patriotism over her decision to kneel during the national anthem, those arguments don’t consider Griner as a person, Collen said.

“I see her as a mother, as a sister, as a spouse, as a daughter, as an unbelievable ambassador for the game of basketball,” she continued. “We can argue about kneeling or not kneeling all day long. Brittney Griner has worn that USA across her chest and won gold medals for this country. She’s represented Baylor. She was Baylor. She made Baylor a household name.

“She was one of the first people to reach out to me when I got this job and she was super excited about me getting the job, about us getting her back here.”

FROM TODAY:
Nicki Collen was asked about Brittney Griner and she spoke about her for just under 5 minutes.

This comes on the same day that @ByCoryDiaz asked Kim Mulkey about the situation and there was no comment. #Baylor | #SicEm | @KCENSports pic.twitter.com/C9wzFGN4fF

— Matt Lively (@mattblively) September 26, 2022

The Baylor coach also said the program would like to retire Griner’s jersey and have it “hanging in the rafters” at some point in the future. But for now, the team is in talks about ways that they can honor Griner during the upcoming season.

“BG is family. She’s Baylor family,” Collen said. “To me, anything we can do to help her and her family is important.”

One reporter brought up Mulkey, now the coach at LSU, and her choice not to comment on Griner. But rather than ask Collen to respond to Mulkey, the reporter asked the Baylor coach to address those who question Griner’s character.

Collen, who took over for Mulkey in 2021, also spent time coaching in the WNBA, and she said she got to know Griner by coaching against her.

“I think it’s easy to question people you don’t know,” she said. “And you don’t know their situation. And we can’t pretend to know if what was said in the court system was real or just part of the court system. It’s no different than people are told by lawyers over here to plead guilty because of certain things in the United States and the court system. It’s not my job to judge, quite frankly.

“And, knowing BG — knowing her, being around — her she’s a big kid. To know her is to love her. She just is one of those people that radiates joy.”

UEFA's 2025 Euro tournament is already knocking on the door of history, as the European Championship is on track to shatter the competition's overall attendance record — despite not kicking off until next week.

This year's Switzerland-hosted edition has sold more than 570,000 of the 673,000 tickets available as of Thursday.

Given that tally, England's 2022 Euro record of 574,875 is likely to fall in the coming days.

In addition to the tickets already on sale, stadiums will release another 32,000 to accommodate the knockout stages in the coming weeks.

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While Switzerland is poised to claim the Euro's total attendance title by the competition's July 27th finale, England's single-game record crowd of 87,192 — set at the 2022 championship match — will be safe, as no Swiss venue matches the capacity of London's iconic Wembley Stadium.

The 2025 Euro final will be a much more elite affair, as only 34,250 seats are available at Basel's St. Jakob-Park — the largest of the tournament's eight venues.

That said, this summer's European Championship will have more eyes on it than ever before, and not just from the stands.

The 2022 edition shattered viewership records worldwide, but the 2025 Euro has a chance to level up even more, as the tournament has seen its global broadcast footprint expand — particularly in the US.

UEFA inked a media deal with Fox Sports in late May, ensuring that audiences Stateside will have live access to at least 20 of the Euro's 31 matches next month.

While the overall tournament chases new attendance and viewership records, the 16 teams bound for Switzerland will be battling toward the 2025 Euro trophy when the competition kicks off next Wednesday.

The 2025 FIBA AmeriCup 5×5 basketball tournament tips off Saturday in Santiago, Chile, where a youthful Team USA will battle nine other countries from North and South America for both this summer's trophy and a ticket to the 2026 FIBA World Cup.

After falling to reigning champions Brazil in 2023, Team USA will aim to avenge the loss by winning a fifth all-time gold medal at the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup final on July 6th.

Led by Duke head coach Kara Lawson, this 12-player US squad follows the federation playbook by tapping top college talent, with the NCAA's finest looking to gain international experience and hone their skills against pros like Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso, who leads Brazil's AmeriCup roster.

Full of familiar faces, the USA AmeriCup lineups includes March Madness stars Olivia Miles (TCU), Flau'Jae Johnson (LSU), Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame), Madison Booker (Texas), Audi Crooks (Iowa State), Raegan Beers (Oklahoma), and Joyce Edwards (South Carolina).

Also taking the FIBA court for Team USA are NCAA standouts Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt), Gianna Kneepkens (UCLA), Kennedy Smith (USC), Hannah Stuelke (Iowa), and Grace Vanslooten (Michigan State).

"[W]e haven't seen the level of physicality and experience we're going to see down there," Lawson said this week. "So that remains to be seen if we're going to be able to impose that athletic, physical play. But there's no doubt we're going to try."

How to watch Team USA at the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup

The 2025 FIBA AmeriCup group stage runs from Saturday through Wednesday, with the knockouts tipping off on July 4th in a run-up to the July 6th championship game.

Team USA will open their AmeriCup campaign against hosts Chile at 8:25 PM ET on Saturday, then face Colombia at 8:10 PM ET on Sunday.

Arguably the toughest Group B contest for the US will be their Monday matchup against Puerto Rico at 8:10 PM ET, before the collegiate stars finish up the tournament's group play against Mexico at 2:10 PM ET on Wednesday.

All 2025 FIBA AmeriCup games will stream live on Courtside 1891.

Three-time 1,500-meter Olympic gold medalist Faith Kipyegon fell just short of making running history on Thursday, as the middle-distance star clocked a time of 4:06.42 in her attempt to become the first woman to break the four-minute mile.

"It was the first trial. I have proven that it's possible and it's only a matter of time. I think it will come to our way," said Kipyegon following Thursday's race. "If it's not me, it will be somebody else."

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Still the fastest mile-runner of any woman in history, the Kenyan icon did beat her own previous world record of 4:07.64 by 1.22 seconds, though the time won't count as a new record as the race came during Nike's unofficial Breaking4 event.

With full support from the sportswear giant — the 31-year-old's partner for 16 years — Kipyegon had the benefit of multiple pace-setters, as well as an aerodynamic suit, 3D-printed Nike FlyWeb sports bra, and spiked shoes made specifically for the much-hyped four-minute mile attempt at Paris's Stade Charléty.

"Faith didn't just make history, she proved the future of sport is faster, stronger, and more inclusive than ever," noted Nike president Amy Montagne after Kipyegon's race.

"It was tough, but I am so proud of what I've done, and I'm going to keep on trying, dreaming and pursing big goals," said Kipyegon. "I want to show the world, and especially women, that you have to dare to try."

The world No. 1 USWNT topped the No. 25 Republic of Ireland 4-0 on Thursday, dominating the first of two friendly matchups against the Girls in Green this week.

Veteran midfielder Rose Lavelle notched a goal and an assist in her first appearance for the US in 2025, with defender Avery Patterson, midfielder Sam Coffey, and forward Alyssa Thompson also finding the back of the net to round out the scoresheet.

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Despite relative inexperience, this USWNT lineup claimed control of the match from the very first whistle, holding 68% of possession while keeping Ireland from registering a single shot on goal.

The US also saw new faces step up, as defenders Lilly Reale and Jordyn Bugg as well as goalkeeper Claudia Dickey all earned their first caps without a hitch.

While USWNT boss Emma Hayes is still figuring out her player pool, her team has been busy racking up the results.

"Being able to trust my teammates around me, trusting Emma — she's helped me a lot," Thompson said after the game. "Just the coaching staff in general, I feel like I've learned so much."

"My natural instincts are to go into the attack more," Patterson told media after tallying her first-ever senior team goal. "I think it's a little bit of that, and also the backing of my coaches."

How to watch the USWNT vs. Ireland this weekend

The USWNT and Ireland will clash again in Cincinnati, Ohio, at 3 PM ET on Sunday.

Coverage of the friendly will air live on TNT.