The highly anticipated Washington Post The story that Kim Mulkey predicted would be a “scandal story” written by a “rogue journalist,” the story that led her to threaten to sue the newspaper, finally ran Saturday morning.
It turned out to be a profile piece covering the life and colorful career of the LSU women’s basketball coach and is not a bestselling article at all.
Written by Kent BabbThe article is occasionally complimentary of Mulkey, calling her “a basketball whisperer, an exceptional teacher, a coach willing to dive deep into players’ emotions to push them beyond their preconceived limits. She is also one of the most colorful personalities in college basketball…”
On the other hand, the article captured Mulkey’s grumpy side and highlighted other attributes that made her as controversial as she was successful.
“She explodes with officials and is wary of reporters,” Babb wrote. “She is also known to hold grudges and clash with players, particularly over their appearance and sexuality, according to interviews with former players and news reports.”
The article reports that a former player of Mulkey’s, in her previous coaching position at Baylor, said Mulkey’s attitude toward her changed when the coach found out she was gay.
“She made my life hell,” Kelli Griffin said The Post.
When rumors surfaced last week that the newspaper was preparing to publish a story about Mulkey, she used an NCAA tournament news conference to address the topic, threaten legal action. And the article addresses specific information that his lawyers shared with the newspaper before publication.
“Mulkey’s lawyers, in letters to The Postdenied that Mulkey treated gay players “more harshly or differently,” Babb wrote. “They provided a sworn statement from former Baylor player Morghan Medlock, who said she was in a relationship with Griffin and never saw Mulkey mistreat Griffin or other gay athletes.”
Mulkey’s lawyers also contacted the newspaper to voice their criticism of Babb’s contacting of her family members for the article, saying they had “no connection to her career.” Part of the article discusses Mulkey’s estrangement from her father, but she had previously addressed the topic in a 2007 autobiography, I will not back down.
Mulkey’s lawyers also addressed other issues. Regarding his alleged criticism of players who gained weight, Mulkey’s lawyers said “the allegations by the former players were too vague to respond to.”
In total, the Washington, DC Mulkey’s failings could have been captured in a profile of any coach in nearly a quarter-century. She lashes out at officials, criticizes players, and is grumpy with the media. The article was certainly not the “scandal” Mulkey had predicted.
Athletics Nicole Auerbach summed it up well: “The The Washington Post The article on Kim Mulkey is out. It’s a very detailed portrait of her, and it’s exactly what I expected. Nothing explosive.
The Washington Post article on Kim Mulkey is out. It’s a very detailed portrait of her, and it’s exactly what I expected. Nothing explosive. https://t.co/ftmHOCRGpi
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) March 30, 2024
Other X/Twitter users agreed that the article certainly did not meet the criteria of a “scandal article.”
Kim Mulkey’s Washington Post article is out.
This is a very good overall portrait of his life and his journey. A lot of things you may already know. No new scandals.https://t.co/4e6U0q34VL
– Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) March 30, 2024
Kim Mulkey is threatening to unleash hell on the Washington Post for what turned out to be a somewhat sleepy profile whose central thesis is that the most famous asshole in women’s basketball is actually a… very funny asshole.
— Luis Paez-Pumar (@lppny) March 30, 2024
100%…if you know anything about Kim Mulkey, none of this is too shocking https://t.co/tLcLfKipIh
— Roy Burton (@TheBSLine) March 30, 2024
This makes her even crazier because it’s nothing revolutionary. https://t.co/0Tr3yIFDaX
— thick KRIT (@Asharp52) March 30, 2024
