Kim Mulkey claims she had no idea the Washington Post ‘hit piece’ had been published after breaking her silence on the story before LSU’s win over UCLA.
Mulkey, 61, threatened last week to sue the Post if it published a mystery story that she insisted contained “false” information, and the newspaper did just that on Saturday despite her warning.
In the story, the LSU coach is accused of clashing with gay members of her former team Baylor, with ex-players Kelli Griffin and Emily Niemann opening up about their time with her.
Griffin claimed Mulkey made her life hell after discovering she was gay, while Neimann recalled her old coach telling her it didn’t “look good” after she was spotted in public with another woman.
Just minutes after the story was published, the three-time NCAA championship winner stepped out of LSU’s team hotel and headed to Tiger Stadium for their Sweet 16 showdown with UCLA during March Madness.
Kim Mulkey broke her silence on the Washington Post’s “hit piece” before LSU’s win over UCLA
Mulkey, 61, threatened last week to sue the Post if it published a mystery story that she insisted contained “false” information
That’s exactly what the outlet did on Saturday, accusing the Tigers’ coach of targeting gay players
And before seeing her team advance to the quarter-finals, she claimed to have been none the wiser from The Post’s publication of the controversial piece.
“You’re telling me something I didn’t know,” Mulkey told ESPN’s Sports Center when asked about the story. “So you’re the bearer of good news or bad news, whichever way you want to look at it.
‘But are you really surprised? Are you really surprised by the timing of it?
“I can tell you I haven’t read it, I don’t know if I will read it. I’ll leave that to my lawyers.’
Griffin, who played for Mulkey’s Baylor from 2007 to 2010, believes her former coach only targeted her after learning she was gay.
Despite calling her a “great coach” and admitting that she only moved to Baylor to play under her, she claimed that Mulkey drew attention to her attire and imposed a suspension that would ultimately end her career only after she had learned of her sexuality.
Griffin also claims that she started asking why she was “dressing like a boy” as soon as she arrived on Baylor’s campus, telling her that “a lady wears a dress” instead of baggy jeans, basketball shorts or sweats.
“Okay, this lady might not like gays,” she remembers thinking.
Kelli Griffin, who played for Mulkey’s Baylor from 2007 to 2010, claims her old coach made her life hell and made her a target after she found out she was gay
Griffin says the coach also urged her to dress like a ‘lady’ after drawing attention to her clothes
Mulkey is said to have had a decade-long feud with ex-Baylor star Brittney Griner, another member of the LGBTQ+ community. Griner spent ten months in a Russian prison in 2022
Mulkey, a four-time NCAA Division 1 winner, is also accused of having a decade-long feud with Brittney Griner, once her star player at Baylor.
Griner, who spent 294 days in a Russian prison in 2022 after entering the country with a vape cartridge containing less than a gram of hash oil, is also a member of the LGBTQ+ community after coming out as a lesbian in 2013.
But even that experience wasn’t enough to ease the tension between her and Mulkey, the report continues, after the latter allegedly instructed players to hide their sexuality and “keep your business behind closed doors,” Griner wrote in her memoir .
Niemann, meanwhile, claims she once urged her to “be careful” after she was seen with a woman in Waco, central Texas.
She and several other players also claim that “shame was a common tool in Mulkey’s coaching arsenal, both during practice and in speeches to the team.” Some spoke anonymously out of fear of reprisals in the women’s basketball community.
But after LSU’s 78-69 win against UCLA, Mulkey instead turned to another news outlet, this time the LA Times, for his preview piece ahead of Saturday’s game — which called her team “dirty rookies” and “basketball thugs.” named.
Flau’jae Johnson led all scorers with 24 points as No. 3 LSU upset No. 2 UCLA 78-69
“I will not let you attack young people,” she emphasized. ‘It was so sexist, evil… Did we call ourselves dirty debutantes? How dare you?’
In a game that went down to the wire, the LSU Tigers officially advanced to the Elite Eight after upsetting the No. 2 UCLA Bruins 78-69 in their Sweet 16 matchup.
A clutch block with less than two minutes left from Angel Reese gave the Tigers an advantage. They held that lead until the end, with UCLA star Kiki Rice committing a key offensive mistake while trailing by five points with about 40 seconds left.
It means LSU could be on track for a rematch in the Elite Eight with Caitlin Clark and Iowa — the team they defeated in last year’s national title game. That will happen if Iowa beats five-seed Colorado this afternoon.
