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The biggest story about the LSU women’s basketball team, with March Madness in full swing, isn’t about their on-court performance, but rather about comments from their head coach, Kim Mulkey, about a rumored hit that she expects to be published.
Mulkey made waves during her opening statement at a news conference before the Tigers’ second-round game with Middle Tennessee when she threatened to sue The Washington Post after hearing rumors that the outlet was contacting former “disgruntled” players in a attempted ‘hit piece’.
Of course, off-the-field distractions are not something any team wants to see this time of year, but the Tigers’ slow start Sunday against Middle Tennessee, who led at halftime, 36-32. LSU rallied in the second half to win dominantly, 83-56, after holding Middle Tennessee to just 20 points in the half.
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LSU Lady Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey reacts on a play against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders during the second half at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. (Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports)
The game sent Mulkey and her Tigers to the Sweet 16 again, but after the game a reference was made to a “sleazy reporter” when asked if the team was distracted at the start of the game.
“I’m not going to let one dirty reporter distract me from what we’re trying to do. Absolutely not,” Mulkey said. “My kids didn’t even know I said that yesterday. That team is not involved in this. They were in shock when they saw all that on the Internet. I don’t take things like that to my team.”
Four of the five starting Tigers finished with double-digit points, while sophomore guard Flau’Jae Johnson led the way with 21 points, two assists and four rebounds. Angel Reese had a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Aneesah Morrow had one of her own and led LSU with 13 boards and 19 points.
LSU STAR ANGEL REESE waves goodbye to Middle Tennessee State player who made a mistake
The only Tiger without double-digit points was guard Hailey Van Lith, who was benched to start the second half. She had just four points on 1-of-5 shooting.
After surprisingly fending off Rice in their first-round match, Mulkey came to Saturday’s press conference in defensive mode with her comments about The Washington Post story.
“Normally I wouldn’t discuss media rumors about me, but I felt the need to publicly discuss what exactly this reporter from The Washington Post has been doing for the past few years and the lengths he’s gone to trying to put together a hit song.” Mulkey said.
Mulkey added that the reporter, whom she did not name, has been working for two years to get a story out about her. She has declined interview requests because of the “hit job” written about LSU football coach Brian Kelly by the same reporter. Mulkey said the reporter contacted LSU on Tuesday and “demanded” that “more than a dozen questions” be answered by the time the team tipped off in their first round.
‘Are you kidding me? This was a ridiculous deadline that LSU and I couldn’t possibly meet, and the reporter knew it,” Mulkey said. ‘It was just an attempt to stop me from coming and an attempt to distract us from this tournament. That’s not going to work, buddy.’
LSU Lady Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey talks with Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders guard Savannah Wheeler, #4, after the game at Pete Maravich Assembly Center. (Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports)
Mulkey claims the reporter contacted her former players in an attempt to get “negative quotes” out of them for the story.
“Former players have told me that The Washington Post has contacted them and offered to leave them anonymous in a story if they say negative things about me. The Washington Post has called on former disgruntled players to get negative quotes to put in their story. ,” she said.
“Reporters who give a megaphone to a one-sided embellished version of things are not trying to tell the truth.”
Mulkey added that she has a legal team waiting in the wings that has the chance to sue the outlet if the story were to be published.
“I have hired the best defamation law firm in the country and I will sue The Washington Post if they publish a false story about me.”
LSU Lady Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey gives pointers against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders during the second half at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. (Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports)
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A spokesperson for The Washington Post declined to comment to Fox News Digital about the situation.
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