Kim Mulkey’s past controversies revisited in Washington Post report

College Basketball

By Matt Ehalt

The Washington Submit article that LSU ladies’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey threatened authorized motion over was published Saturday, revisiting matters about how the longtime coach handled homosexual gamers, how she acted throughout Baylor soccer’s sexual assault scandal and her relationships with Brittney Griner and her father, Les. 

Emily Niemann, who performed for Baylor through the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons, alleged that Mulkey known as her into the coach’s workplace and mentioned it’s “not a great look” after Niemann had been noticed in public with one other lady.

Niemann later transferred, however wrote in a 2014 piece for Outsports, in response to the Washington Submit, “didn’t depart Baylor as a result of coach Mulkey is homophobic.”

Mulkey’s attorneys refuted the allegation that the coach handled gamers who had been homosexual “extra harshly or in a different way.” 

Mulkey additionally reportedly criticized star ahead Angel Reese for being among the many gamers who “keep on that social media crap,” in response to emails that the Washington Submit obtained, and advised a “supporter” that Reese wasn’t included on awards lists final yr as a result of her GPA.

LSU didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from The Submit concerning the Washington Submit article.

“You’re telling me one thing I didn’t know, so that you’re the bearer of fine information, dangerous information, nevertheless you need to take a look at it,” Mulkey told ESPN’s Holly Rowe when the latter revealed that the article had published. “However are you actually stunned? Are you actually stunned by the timing of it? However I can let you know I haven’t learn it. Don’t know that I’ll learn it. I’ll depart that as much as my attorneys.”

There had been rumors of a bombshell story being within the works, and Mulkey went on the offensive towards the Washington Submit earlier than the article got here out.

She first threatened to sue the outlet if it revealed a “false” story, saying she had employed authorized representatives, whereas calling the unreleased story a “hit piece” by author Kent Babb.

“I’ve employed the most effective defamation regulation agency within the nation and I’ll sue the Washington Submit in the event that they publish a false story about me,” Mulkey mentioned final weekend. “Not many individuals are able to carry these sorts of journalists accountable, however I’m. And I’ll do it.”

Mulkey alleged Babb tried to “trick” former coaches into offering filth on her.

“I wouldn’t usually focus on media rumors about me, however I felt the necessity to publicly tackle what precisely this reporter for the Washington Submit has been doing the previous a number of years, and the lengths he has gone to try to put successful piece collectively,” Mulkey mentioned final Saturday. “This reporter has been engaged on a narrative about me for 2 years. After two years of attempting to get me to take a seat with him for an interview, he contacts LSU on Tuesday, as we had been preparing for the first-round recreation of this [NCAA] match, with greater than a dozen questions, demanding a response by Thursday proper earlier than we’re scheduled to tip off.

“Are you kidding me? This was a ridiculous deadline that LSU and I couldn’t probably meet, and the reporter knew it. It’s simply an try to forestall me from commenting and an try to distract us from this match. It ain’t gonna work, buddy.”

Mulkey mentioned she advised Babb she wouldn’t take part in an interview, not liking a earlier piece he wrote on former Notre Dame and present LSU soccer coach Brian Kelly.

“Sadly, that is a part of a sample that goes again years. I advised this reporter two years in the past that I didn’t recognize the hit job he wrote on Brian Kelly, and that’s why I wasn’t going to do an interview with him,” Mulkey mentioned. “After that, the reporter known as two former faculty coaches of mine and left a number of messages that he was with me in Baton Rouge to get them to name him again — attempting to trick these coaches into believing that I used to be working with the Washington Submit on a narrative.”

After LSU rallied to beat No. 11 Center Tennessee State within the second spherical on Sunday, she took a shot at Babb when requested if distractions might have triggered a gradual begin.

“No, hear man, we’re not gonna let one sleazy reporter distract us from what we’re attempting to do. Completely not,” Mulkey said. “My youngsters didn’t even know I mentioned that yesterday. That group’s not concerned on this. They had been in shock once they noticed all that on the web. I don’t take that stuff to my group.”

Mulkey is in her third yr yr at LSU and reportedly agreed to a 10-year, $32 million extension final yr following the Tigers’ triumph within the nationwide title recreation over Iowa, in response to The Associated Press.

She beforehand received three nationwide titles with Baylor in 2005, 2012 and 2019.

LSU is the No. 3 seed within the Albany 2 area and is going through No. 2 seed UCLA on Saturday

The victor faces the winner of No. 1 seed Iowa — and Caitlin Clark — vs. No. 5 seed Colorado.