Ukrainian basketball player quits US college team after Russian joins

Louisiana State University’s women’s head coach announced Kate Koval’s departure soon after the team signed center Anna Minaeva Ukrainian basketball player Kate Koval has left Louisiana State University’s women’s basketball team less than two weeks after the team signed Russian center Anna Minaeva.Head coach Kim Mulkey announced Koval’s departure on Monday, saying the Ukrainian had decided to leave the program “for personal reasons.”“We will respect her privacy on her decision, but we had a long talk about it, and it was a hard decision for her,” Mulkey said.The announcement came after Mulkey revealed last week that she had spoken privately with Koval about whether she was prepared to play alongside Minaeva and “pass the ball to each other.”Mulkey said she had hoped the Ukrainian and Russian players could become “ambassadors” for friendship and perhaps even help bring an end to the conflict between their countries. Koval reportedly responded: “I doubt that.”Mulkey also said she had made clear that geopolitical tensions would not influence LSU’s recruitment decisions.“I cannot make a decision to not recruit somebody that can help our program because of a conflict between two countri...