Yahoo Finance Baylor coach Kim Mulkey tests positive for COVID-19; game against UConn canceled
The Baylor women’s basketball team has canceled its Thursday game against UConn and restricted team activities after longtime coach Kim Mulkey tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday.
Additional contact tracing is taking place, Baylor announced on Tuesday.
In a statement, Mulkey revealed that she had been exposed to COVID-19 by a family member on Christmas Day and had been quarantining ever since. She did not return to the team after the holiday break and did not coach on Saturday when Baylor returned to action against TCU. Mulkey had intended to return to team activities on Monday, but that’s when her required COVID-19 test came back positive.
Here is Mulkey’s full statement, released by Baylor:
"On December 25, I was exposed to COVID-19 by a family member who tested positive. I immediately self-quarantined and did not re-join the team when our staff and players came back from our holiday break on December 28. I produced three negative tests leading up to our game at TCU, Jan. 2. However, I decided that it was important to continue quarantining in case the virus took time to come to fruition. I tested positive yesterday (Jan. 4) and will now isolate. If I have no symptoms, I will re-join the program on January 15. While I am disappointed and hate to be away from the program, Baylor women's basketball is in good hands with our coaches and support staff. The safety of our student-athletes is paramount and will take precedent over any basketball activity during this pandemic."
Mulkey’s decision to continue quarantining despite testing negative three times was vital, because she did end up testing positive. If she had chosen to leave quarantine and return to the team to coach on Saturday, she would have exposed numerous athletes and staff to COVID-19 before she even knew she had it.
There is currently no timetable for when the Lady Bears will return to normal, and the fate of their upcoming games against Kansas State (Jan. 10) and Kansas (Jan. 13) has yet to be decided. Mulkey said she plans to return to the program on Jan. 15 if she’s not showing any symptoms.
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