Saturday, LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey threatened to sue the Washington Post amid rumors the paper is planning to publish a “hit piece” on her.
Mulkey used Saturday’s NCAA Tournament media session to claim a WaPo reporter has made numerous attempts to talk to her over the past two years, then issued an ultimatum this week.
“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,” Mulkey said. “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 were scheduled to tip-off. Are you kidding me?
“This was a ridiculous deadline that LSU and I could not possibly meet, and the reporter knew it. It was just an attempt to prevent me from commenting and an attempt to distract us from this tournament. It ain’t gonna work, buddy.”
Mulkey went on to say she has “hired the best defamation law firm in the country, and I will sue the Washington Post if they publish a false story on me. Not many people are in a position to hold these kinds of journalists accountable but I am, and I’ll do it.
"This is exactly why people don't trust journalists and the media anymore… I'm fed up… I will sue the Washington Post if they publish a false story about me." – LSU HC Kim Mulkey
(via @bryce_koon) pic.twitter.com/9Lce7PP4xY
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 23, 2024
“This is exactly why people don’t trust journalists and the media anymore,” Mulkey said. “It’s these kinds of sleazy tactics and hatchet jobs that people are tired of. I’m fed up, and I’m not going to let the Washington Post attack this university, this awesome team or me without a fight.”
Mulkey’s comments come on the heels of a social media post by Sports Illustrated writer Pat Forde, who said on Friday that he was “hearing some buzz about a big Washington Post story in the works on LSU women’s hoops coach Kim Mulkey, potentially next week. Wagons being circled, etc.”
Hearing some buzz about a big Washington Post story in the works on LSU women's hoops coach Kim Mulkey, potentially next week. Wagons being circled, etc.
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) March 22, 2024
Mulkey did not mention the reporter by name but did say she didn’t talk to him because he had written a “hit job” on LSU football coach Brian Kelly. WaPo reporter Kent Babb wrote a story in January 2022 entitled, “In Baton Rouge, there’s a $100 million football coach and everyone else.” That article juxtaposed Kelly’s massive salary against the harsh financial conditions that Baton Rouge’s residents and LSU’s students face.
Sports media and basketball fans quickly reacted to Mulkey’s outburst.
Whatever this is, the one thing I’m absolutely certain of is that the Washington Post is completely unafraid of this insane basketball coach and any threats of a lawsuit. They took down a President of the United States one time. https://t.co/wa9FL0a3nx
— Jason McCallum (@JMacSC) March 23, 2024
Classic… Kim Mulkey attacking an article which isn’t out yet! pic.twitter.com/Ca9hOXyVRI
— Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow) March 23, 2024
The story hasn’t come out yet. 😂😂 https://t.co/XT7NgJLtT0
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) March 23, 2024
I’m sold. She just made sure that article gets read by far more people than it would have otherwise. https://t.co/ilowWgUMqA
— Geoff Grammer (@GeoffGrammer) March 23, 2024
Whatever Mulkey’s intention here, you could make a case that all she did was make people want to read this apparent Washington Post report even more than before.
[Bryce Koon, Image Credit: Chessa Bouche]
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.