LSU was preparing to defend its national title in the women’s NCAA Tournament when a social media post by Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde suddenly shifted the spotlight to the program’s coach, Kim Mulkey.
Forde posted to X (formerly Twitter) on March 22 that he was “hearing some buzz about a big Washington Post story” about Mulkey.
Forde didn’t specify the story’s contents. He only revealed that the story would be released “potentially next week.”
Hearing some buzz about a big Washington Post story in the works on LSU women’s hoops coach Kim Mulkey, potentially next week. Wagons being circled, etc.
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) March 22, 2024
Naturally, Forde’s post captured the attention of sports fans, who speculated wildly about what might be in the profile. It even prompted a strong response from Mulkey herself, who threatened to sue the paper for writing a “hit piece” about her.
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Here’s what to know about the Washington Post’s Kim Mulkey story and the drama surrounding its release.
Kim Mulkey threatens to sue Washington Post over ‘hit piece’
Forde’s post caused a cavalcade of speculation to develop about the potential contents of the Mulkey story.
The LSU coach tried to get ahead of it by giving an opening statement ahead of the Tigers’ second-round matchup with No. 11 seed Middle Tennessee State.
Mulkey said in her statement that an unnamed Washington Post reporter had been putting together a “hit piece” on her for two years. She explained that she refused to do a sit-down interview with him during that time and that, through LSU, he offered her a final chance to respond to his questions two days ahead of the school’s first game of the NCAA Tournament against No. 14 seed Rice.
“Are you kidding me?” Mulkey said. “This was a ridiculous deadline that LSU and I couldn’t possibly meet, and the reporter knew it. It was just an attempt to prevent me from commenting and an attempt to distract us from this tournament. It ain’t gonna work, buddy.
“Unfortunately, this is a part of a pattern that goes back years. I told this reporter two years ago that I didn’t appreciate the hit job he wrote on Brian Kelly, and that’s why I wasn’t going to do an interview with him.”
Mulkey also claimed the reporter tried to “trick” two former coaches into talking about her as he worked on the story.
“When my former coaches spoke to him and found out that I wasn’t talking with the reporter, they were just distraught,” Mulkey said. “And they felt completely misled.”
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Mulkey lamented that the reporter allowed some of her former players to remain anonymous. She claimed he was doing that as long they said “negative” things about her. She also bemoaned that the journalist reached out to “disgruntled” players for their comments about Mulkey.
“They are ignoring the 40-plus years of positive stories that they have heard from people about me,” Mulkey said. “But you see reporters who give a megaphone to a one-sided, embellished version of things aren’t trying to tell the truth. They’re trying to sell newspapers and feed their click machine.
“This is exactly why people don’t trust journalists and the media anymore. It’s these kind of sleazy tactics and hatchet jobs that people are just tired of.”
Mulkey also announced that she hired “the best defamation law firm in the country” ahead of the story’s release. She made it clear she would sue the outlet if it publishes a “false story about me.”
“I’m fed up, and I’m not going to let the Washington Post attack this university, this awesome team of young women I have, or me without a fight,” Mulkey said.
“Not many people are in a position to hold these kinds of journalists accountable. But I am, and I’ll do it.”
What’s in Kent Babb’s Washington Post story about Kim Mulkey?
The Washington Post’s story on Mulkey was a profile. The story, written by Kent Babb, outlined Mulkey’s general life and coaching career at Baylor and LSU. It outlined Mulkey’s clashes with players and coaches and also provided some new quotes about her treatment of gay players.
But overall, the story didn’t shine light on any new scandal that hadn’t previously been reported.
Here are some of the most notable parts of Babb’s story about Mulkey.
Kim Mulkey’s treatment of gay players Kelli Griffin, Brittney Griner
The Post’s story referenced Mulkey’s treatment of gay players during her coaching career. Brittney Griner wrote in her memoir that Mulkey wanted players to “keep your business behind closed doors” while several other former players offered similar assessments.
“Kim Mulkey is an amazing coach; the reason I went to Baylor is because of her,” Kelli Griffin, who played for Mulkey from 2007 to 2010, told the Post. Griffin later adds of Mulkey, “She made my life hell.”
Griffin believed that Mulkey’s harsh treatment of her stemmed from the coach finding out that Griffin was gay. Mulkey’s attorneys denied that she treated gay players “more harshly or differently” in a letter to The Post.
But Emily Niemann also outlined that she felt at conflict with Mulkey because of her sexuality. Niemann said that Mulkey told her in a meeting a few months after winning the national title that her being seen around campus with another woman was “not a good look.”
“I can’t talk to anyone,” Niemann now says of her time at Baylor, per the Post. “I couldn’t find a way to make things feel right.”
These specific accounts of Mulkey’s treatment of gay players may be new, but the phenomenon has been discussed and reported before. She particularly clashed with Griner during their time together from 2009 to 2013.
Kim Mulkey’s treatment of other players, including Angel Reese
The Post’s story also outlined some of Mulkey’s other tough treatment of players. Notably, Babb reported that shame was used to motivate players and that Mulkey only wanted to deal with players from a basketball standpoint.
Mulkey also called out players if they gained weight, instructing the team’s strength coach to conduct weigh-ins in front of the team, according to Griffin and another player. Players weren’t to bring non-basketball matters to Mulkey, they say, encouraged to confide in assistant coaches instead. And Niemann and multiple other former players say shame was a frequent tool in Mulkey’s coaching arsenal, whether during practice drills or in addresses to the team. Some of these former players spoke on the condition of anonymity because of fears of retaliation in the close-knit women’s basketball community.
The Post also explained that Mulkey has clashed with her star players during her career. That includes current LSU star Angel Reese, who didn’t comment for the story, but was benched earlier in the year and has drawn criticism from Mulkey, as outlined by Babb.
Mulkey told a supporter last year that Reese had been left off an awards list because of her GPA, according to email obtained via public records request by The Post. In another email, Mulkey complained that Reese was one of several players who ‘stay on that social media crap.’
Still, this isn’t anything new. Mulkey’s clashes with star players date back to her early days at Baylor and, again, were especially prevalent during Griner’s rise.
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Thus, it seems like the attention surrounding this profile of Mulkey — stemming from Forde’s tweet and Mulkey’s press conference tirade — was overblown.
What did Kim Mulkey say about the Washington Post story?
Mulkey appears ready to let the Washington Post’s story fade into the background. She was asked about the story by ESPN’s Holly Rowe shortly before LSU took the court for their Sweet 16 matchup against UCLA Saturday.
“Are you really surprised by the timing of it?” she rhetorically inquired. “I haven’t read it. I don’t know that I will read it. I’ll leave that up to my attorneys.”
Kim Mulkey reacts to the Washington Post article that was published about her life and career.
“Are you really surprised by the timing of it?” pic.twitter.com/4u09EViWHr
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) March 30, 2024
