After a week of speculation and a cloud hanging over the LSU women’s basketball program amid its NCAA tournament run, The Washington Post finally released its profile (subscription required) of coach Kim Mulkey on Saturday morning ahead of the Tigers’ Sweet 16 game against UCLA.
The profile, reported on for more than two years by Kent Babb, wasn’t exactly the “hit piece” that some expected. It focused mostly on Mulkey’s career history and relationships with players, and it doesn’t feature any new allegations against the coach, who has been no stranger to controversy throughout her career.
Mulkey is painted in the piece as a coach who is respected for her effectiveness by her former players, though they are often critical of her management and disciplinary style.
Angel Reese, who was suspended earlier this season for four games, was the subject of one section of the profile in which Mulkey apparently told a supporter via email last season that Reese was left off an awards list due to her GPA. In another email, she complained that Reese is one of several players who “stay on that social media crap.”
Reese did not provide comment for the story from The Washington Post.
Much of the story centers around Mulkey’s alleged discomfort with her players’ sexualities. This isn’t a new allegation; in 2013, former Baylor star Brittney Griner alleged that Mulkey advised players to keep quiet about their sexualities.
Several other former Baylor players went on the record with The Washington Post to echo those allegations, adding that Mulkey would often comment negatively on the way players dressed or wore their hair.
In the article, former LSU star Alexis Morris takes issue with that characterization of Mulkey.
“Coach Mulkey is not homophobic,” Morris said definitively, per Babb.
Mulkey, who in a recent press conference threatened legal action against the newspaper if it published a “false story” about her, declined comment multiple times for the story, though Babb was in contact with her attorneys, as shown in the profile.
She was asked by ESPN’s Holly Rowe about the post ahead of Saturday’s game and said that she hadn’t read it and probably wouldn’t, though she said she wasn’t surprised by the timing.
Kim Mulkey reacts to the publishing of the Washington Post story on her—an hour and a half before LSU’s Sweet 16 matchup.
“Are you really surprised by the timing of it?”pic.twitter.com/wEoYcTc51H
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) March 30, 2024
With The Washington Post story now published, the Tigers seek to put the distraction behind them and return to the Elite Eight in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2007-08.
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