In the days before the LSU women’s basketball team faced off against the UCLA Bruins in the Sweet 16, a pair of opinion pieces came out, painting the team and its coach in a negative light, sparking criticism over their timing.
WWL’s Newell Normand discussed the pieces published in the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post, sharing that the timing of their release was uncalled for and felt intentional.
“I didn’t get a lot of clarity out of what was shaking out in the story,” Normand said of the articles. “Now, what I did get clarity out of was the timing of the release of it. Which I thought was pretty chicken it.”
The piece published in the Times was focused on the team’s matchup against the UCLA Bruins and what its author described as a battle between “good versus evil,” with the Tigers being the former.
The author also described the members of the Lady Tigers team as “dirty debutantes,” resulting in Tigers Coach Kim Mulkey calling the article sexist and unnecessary.
After several others spoke out against the article, the author came forward and apologized, removing the debutante jab and agreeing that it was a “mistake.”
“I sincerely apologize to the LSU and UCLA basketball teams and to our readers,” the author said in a statement.
On the other hand, the piece in the Post appeared to be more focused on Mulkey, criticizing her for her coaching style and portraying her in an unflattering manner.
The report, which Mulkey had said was a “hit piece” and threatened to sue over weeks ago, showed her as having a brash personality with a tendency to hold a grudge.
While the piece wasn’t full of any bombshells, many felt it was meant to distract the Tigers during their run to repeat, and Normand says it was simply unnecessary.
“If you think that there’s a vacuum around Kim Mulkey, write your story, but [to] release it right before these games. You begin to look less than when you do so,” Normand said. “Your clicks are not necessarily more important than the lives of these young ladies that are representing the state of Louisiana and the LSU Fighting Tigers.”