The much-anticipated Washington Post piece on LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey came out a few hours before the Lady Tigers played UCLA in a Sweet 16 matchup.
There was a lot of curiosity about the article after Sports Illustrated’ s Pat Forde tweeted that “wagons were being circled” and Mulkey threatened a defamation lawsuit against the Post if the story contained any lies about her.
The story by Kent Babb is very thorough and hits on themes already known about Mulkey, but with more detail.
Most people were curious to see what would be written about Mulkey’s relationship with former players who are gay. The story talks about Mulkey’s broken relationship with former Baylor superstar Britney Griner and the perceived lack of support from the coach when Griner was in a Russian prison for several months.
Mulkey’s former Louisiana Tech teammate Mickie DeMoss told the Post that she wished Mulkey made a statement about Griner’s situation. Mulkey did tell Tiger Rag Radio that she was praying for Griner’s safe return.
Former Baylor Kelli Griffin played for Mulkey at Baylor from 2007 and 2010 and she believes she was suspended because she was gay.
There are also several paragraphs devoted to Emily Niemann. She arrived on the Baylor campus in 2003 and told the Post that Mulkey told her it was not a good look being seen with another woman. Niemann ended up transferring but told Outsports she didn’t leave because she felt Mulkey is homophobic.
Mulkey never responded to Babb’s questions, but her attorneys deny the coach treats players different because of their sexuality.
The story also gives several examples of how Mulkey holds grudges. She no longer has a relationship with her father, who cheated on Mulkey’s mother. Mulkey’s relationship with her sister is also non-existent. But the story didn’t provide any background.
Mulkey has not spoken with former Louisiana Tech president Dan Reneau, after not offering her a five-year contract to be the head coach of the Lady Techsters, her alma mater. It was only a three-year deal.
The article also provides several examples on how Mulkey is hard on her players and demands perfection, which is what nearly every successful coach does.
Babb’s piece is well written, informative, but if you’re looking for scandal, it’s not there.
Mulkey’s strong statements last weekend towards Babb and calling him a sleezy journalist gave more life to a story that many people probably would have never read.