Kim Mulkey claims she had no idea the Washington Post’s “hit piece” had been published after breaking her silence on the story before LSU’s win over UCLA.
Mulkey, 61, threatened to sue the Post last week if it published a mystery story that she said contained “false” information, and the outlet did exactly that on Saturday despite her warning.
In the story, the LSU coach is accused of clashing with gay members of her former Baylor team, and former players Kelli Griffin and Emily Niemann open up about their time working with her.
Griffin alleged that Mulkey made her life “hell” after discovering she was gay, while Neimann recalled her former coach telling her she didn’t have “good looks” after she was seen in public with another woman.
Just minutes after the story was published, the three-time NCAA Championship winner left LSU’s team hotel and headed to Tiger Stadium for its Sweet 16 matchup with UCLA in March Madness.
Kim Mulkey broke her silence on Washington Post ‘hit article’ ahead of LSU’s win over UCLA
Mulkey, 61, threatened to sue the Post last week if it published a mystery story that she said contained “false” information.
The outlet did exactly that on Saturday, when the Tigers coach was accused of attacking gay players.
And before watching his team advance to the quarterfinals, he claimed not to have realized that the Post published his controversial article.
“You’re telling me something I didn’t know,” Mulkey told ESPN’s Sports Center when asked about the story. ‘So you are the bearer of good news or bad news, however you want to see it.
‘But are you really surprised? Are you really surprised by the timing of it?
‘I can tell you that I haven’t read it, I don’t know if I will read it. I’ll leave that in the hands of my lawyers.
Griffin, who played for Mulkey’s Baylor from 2007 to 2010, believes her former coach only attacked her after finding out she was gay.
Despite calling her an “incredible coach” and admitting that he only moved to Baylor to play with her, he claimed that Mulkey drew attention to her clothing and gave her a suspension that would ultimately end her career only after learning of her sexuality. .
Griffin also alleges that he began asking why she was “dressing like a boy” as soon as she arrived on Baylor’s campus, while telling her that “a lady wears a dress” instead of baggy jeans, basketball shorts or sweatshirts.
“Okay, this lady might not like gay people,” he remembers thinking at the time.
Kelli Griffin, who played for Mulkey’s Baylor from 2007 to 2010, claims her former coach made her life “hell” and attacked her after finding out she was gay.
Griffin says the coach also urged her to dress like a ‘lady’ after drawing attention to her clothing.
Mulkey is said to have had a decade-long feud with former Baylor star Brittney Griner, another member of the LGBTQ+ community. Griner spent 10 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, who was 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.
However, 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 their business behind closed doors,” Griner wrote in her comments. memories.
Niemann, for her part, claims he once urged her to “be careful” after she was seen in Waco, central Texas, with a woman.
She and many other players also allege that “embarrassment was a frequent tool in Mulkey’s training arsenal, whether during practice drills or in speeches to the team.” Some spoke anonymously for fear of retaliation in the women’s basketball community.
However, after LSU’s 78-69 win against UCLA, Mulkey took aim at another media outlet, this time the LA Times, for his Saturday pregame article, which called his team “filthy debutants” and “basketball villains.”
Flau’jae Johnson led all scorers with 24 points as No. 3 LSU defeated No. 2 UCLA 78-69
“I am not going to allow them to attack young people,” he stressed. ‘It was so sexist, evil… Did they call us dirty debutantes? How dare you?’
In a contest that went down to the wire, the LSU Tigers officially advanced to the Elite Eight after defeating the No. 2 UCLA Bruins 78-69 in their Sweet 16 matchup.
A decisive block with less than two minutes left by Angel Reese gave the Tigers the lead. They maintained that lead until the end, with UCLA star Kiki Rice committing a key offensive foul to go up five points with about 40 seconds left.
It means LSU could be on track for an Elite Eight rematch with Caitlin Clark and Iowa, the team they beat in last year’s national title game. That will happen if Iowa beats fifth-ranked Colorado this afternoon.