The highly anticipated Washington Post article about Kim Mulkey has been released, and it has drawn some very mixed criticisms in the sports world. The article, written by Kent Babb, details Mulkey's often contentious relationships with players, coaches and even family members.
Mulkey attempted to hop in front of the story on last Saturday in an early afternoon press conference.
“I wouldn't normally discuss media rumors about me, but I felt the need to publicly address what exactly this reporter for the Washington Post has been doing the past several years and the lengths he has gone to try and put a hit piece together.
“This reporter has been working on a story about me for two years. After two years of trying to get me to sit with him for an interview, he contacts LSU on Tuesday as we were getting ready for the first-round game of this tournament with more than a dozen questions demanding a response by Thursday right before we're scheduled to tip off. Are you kidding me?”
She also threatened to sue the Washington Post if perceived falsehoods were reported.
“I've hired the best defamation law firm in the country, and I will sue the Washington Post if they publish a false story about me. Not many people are in a position to hold these kind of journalists accountable, but I am, and I'll do it.”
The article didn't seem to warrant legal action. Babb crafted a comprehensive profile on Mulkey, showcasing her coaching accomplishments while also addressing claims of differential treatment towards gay players and harsh treatment of team members.
“Mulkey is many things, among them a 5-foot-4 hoops whisperer, an exceptional teacher, a coach willing to dive deeply into players’ emotions to push them past their preconceived limits. She is also one of college basketball’s most colorful personalities, viewed by some as an almost cartoonishly ornery supervillain,” Babb wrote in his article.
Former Baylor player Kelli Griffin praised Mulkey's coaching skills but claimed she made her life difficult by critiquing her attire, suspending her, which ultimately ended her career. Griffin believes the mistreatment began when Mulkey discovered she was gay.
However, the piece featured insight from Mulkey attorneys denying the allegations as well as pieces of information that featured former players defending her.
Alexis Morris, former Baylor & LSU player, said that Mulkey wasn't “homophobic.” The article also highlights Mulkey's alleged treatment of players. Mulkey would call out players for weight gain, directing the team's strength coach to conduct weigh-ins in front of everyone, as told by former players interviewed for the article.
Players were discouraged from discussing nonbasketball issues with Mulkey and were instead encouraged to confide in assistant coaches. Mulkey is also said to prohibit the use of cell phones, preventing the recording of any controversial or extreme situations.
Mulkey's attorneys often issued statements refuting allegations as untrue or presenting players' statements contradicting the claims. At times, they chose not to address the allegations or ignored certain aspects of them.
This becomes a theme for the majority of the article: Babb details findings from his investigation, including comments on and off the record, and he then presents the pushback from Mulkey's representatives as well as comments in defense of Mulkey.
The sports world reacts
That trend itself led to some disappointment among readers, who hoped for more intriguing information not yet familiar to women's basketball fans already accustomed to such content.
The Athletic senior writer Chris VanniniIt said of the article, “A really good overall profile of her life and her background. A lot of stuff you might know already. No new scandal.”
“Kim Mulkey threatening to unleash hell on the Washington Post for what turned out to be a bit of a snoozer profile whose main thesis is that the most famous asshole in women’s basketball is in fact an asshole…very funny,” posted Defecto Media co-owner Luis Paez-Pumar on Twitter/X.
Listening to conversations from sports media members and other social media users who read the article, it's understandable to believe that Mulkey's comments last Saturday worked.
While trying to dampen the story, she actually sparked the interest of many who anticipated more from it. Consequently, readers found the piece underwhelming compared to their expectations, leading to a devaluation of the information presented.
But renowned sports personality Jemele Hill made a post before she read the piece that speculated about why Mulkey was upset.
“I’m about to read this Kim Mulkey story, but once I knew who the writer was, I knew it wasn’t going to be a ‘hit piece.' Kent Babb is an excellent writer who mainly seems to write introspective profiles and specializes in enterprise reporting. Her issue was — and she isn’t the first public figure to think this way — he’s not following the narrative I want him to follow.”
Renowned journalist Kelsey Nelson echoed Hill's sentiments, posting, “Kim Mulkey made all that fuss and gave free publicity to that Washington Post article for what? Obv. her ‘sources' that were telling her about that story in advance had her real nervous, making people assume that there was more there.”
As for Mulkey herself, she said she hadn't read the article in comments to ESPN's Holly Rowe before LSU's tough Sweet Sixteen victory over UCLA.
“You're telling me something I didn't know. So, you're a bearer of good news or bad news or however you want to look at it though. But are you really surprised? Are you really surprised by the timing of it? But I can tell you that I haven't read it, and I don't know that I will read it. I'll leave that up to my attorneys.”
Following their victory over UCLA on Sunday afternoon, LSU will gear up to play the winner of Colorado and Iowa on Monday to determine who will make it to the Final Four.
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