The focus for Kim Mulkey and LSU should be on their NCAA Tournament title defense. The No. 3 seed Tigers are preparing for a second-round matchup Sunday against No. 11 Middle Tennessee.
But the LSU head coach had something else on her mind Saturday afternoon in Albany — The Washington Post.
Mulkey gave an elaborate opening statement at the start of her press conference today, saying that the national newspaper is in the process of writing and publishing a "hit piece" on her. The head coach threatened to sue the outlet for the story that has not yet been published.
The 61-year-old coach is no stranger to controversy. Her biggest feud involved WNBA star Brittany Griner, who played for Mulkey during their shared time at Baylor. Griner, who is gay, claimed that she could not be her full self at the program due to Mulkey's stance on the LGBTQ+ community.
The content of the rumored Washington Post article is not known, nor has the reporter been named. But whatever the context of the story may be, it proved enough for Mulkey to get ahead of the situation.
Here's what you need to know about Mulkey's press conference Saturday and the potential story incoming from the Washington Post.
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Kim Mulkey threatens to sue Washington Post
At the start of her press conference Saturday, Mulkey began by giving an opening statement that lasted more than two minutes. She addressed a story to be published about her in The Washington Post.
Kim Mulkey makes an opening statement to address the Washington Post rumors. Here’s part one of her statement. @LSUwbkb @KimMulkey #LSU pic.twitter.com/Xiv8v5zB7m
— Chessa Bouche (@chessabouche) March 23, 2024
Part two of @KimMulkey statement.
— Chessa Bouche (@chessabouche) March 23, 2024
She ends it with saying “I’ve hired the best defamation law firm in the country & I’ll sue the Washington Post if they publish a false story about me.”@LSUwbkb #LSU #NCAAT pic.twitter.com/50QB8con5w
An unnamed Washington Post reporter has been putting together the "hit piece" on her for two years now, Mulkey said. She has repeatedly refused to sit down with the reporter for an interview, which resulted in the writer contacting LSU on Tuesday "with more than a dozen questions" while the Tigers were preparing for the NCAA Tournament, Mulkey said.
Mulkey said the reporter "demanded" a response before Thursday, the same day that LSU tipped off its March Madness run with a first-round matchup against No. 14 seed Rice.
"Are you kidding me?" Mulkey said. "This was a ridiculous deadline that LSU and I couldn't 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.
"Unfortunately, this is a part of a pattern that goes back years. I told this reporter two years ago that I didn't appreciate the hit job he wrote on Brian Kelly, and that's why I wasn't going to do an interview with him."
Mulkey also claimed that the reporter tried to "trick" two former college coaches in an attempt to get a response.
"When my former coaches spoke to him and found out that I wasn't talking with the reporter, they were just distraught," Mulkey said. "And they felt completely misled."
The LSU head coach continued in the same vein, saying numerous former players had been contacted by the reporter, with some giving the option to remain anonymous as long as they said "negative" things about Mulkey. She also said that the Washington Post reached out to former "disgruntled" players for comments.
"They are ignoring the 40-plus years of positive stories that they have heard from people about me," Mulkey said. "But you see reporters who give a megaphone to a one-sided, embellished version of things aren't trying to tell the truth. They're trying to sell newspapers and feed their click machine.
"This is exactly why people don't trust journalists and the media anymore. It's these kind of sleazy tactics and hatchet jobs that people are just tired of."
Mulkey said that she has hired "the best defamation law firm in the country" in advance of the release of the story, and that she plans on suing the outlet if it publishes a "false story about me."
"I'm fed up, and I'm not going to let the Washington Post attack this university, this awesome team of young women I have, or me without a fight," Mulkey said.
"Not many people are in a position to hold these kinds of journalists accountable. But I am, and I'll do it.
