Kim Mulkey, the controversial head women’s basketball coach of the LSU Tigers, was criticized after she addressed reporters during LSU’s media availability after the SEC championship game between the LSU and the University of South Carolina.
After making an initial statement that strongly condemned the confrontation at the end of the game, Mulkey decided to inflame things further.
“But I can tell you this: I wish she would’ve pushed Angel Reese. Don’t push a kid—you’re 6-foot-8 [Kamilla Cardoso]—don’t push somebody that little. That was uncalled for in my opinion,” Mulkey said. “Let those two girls that were jawing, let them go at it.”
Mulkey’s comments have rightfully elicited commentary from sports media members like ESPN’s Shannon Sharpe, who said on the March 11 episode of First Take that Mulkey needed to be held accountable for her inflammatory comments.
“Really? Is that what you want? You want to see a fight? You
want the women’s game to be marred by a fight? Really?” Sharpe said. “Come on, Kim Mulkey. You’ve got to be better. And we’ve got to start doing a better job of holding Kim Mulkey accountable and responsible for some of her comments. We let that stuff fly because she’s a national champion. I refuse to do that. I believe she was wrong in this instance. And Dawn Staley [South Carolina’s head coach] showed the utmost class and respect, not only for the game itself but for her team and the opposing team. I wish Kim Mulkey would have shown that level of respect.”Sharpe continued, “If a man had said that, we would hold him accountable. Kim Mulkey has gone a long time and escaped criticism for a lot of things that she’s said…She says and does a lot of things that rub me the wrong way. And I’m not going to apologize for being as harsh and as stern as I am because of what she had to say yesterday.”
Some examples: Mulkey’s evasiveness when asked direct questions about the status of Reese earlier in the season due to a mysterious four-game suspension only created more questions. Those questions, as USA Today pointed out, unfairly impacted Reese, and Mulkey seemed to be OK with leaving her out to dry. This prompted plenty of criticism on social media from fans of women’s basketball as well as sports journalists about Mulkey’s failure to protect Reese from speculation by not specifying a reason for the suspension.
Mulkey was also one of the only figures in women’s basketball to go out of her way to provide a non-answer when asked about the wrongful imprisonment of Brittney Griner, who played for Mulkey at Baylor.
Associated Press sports columnist Paul Newberry criticized Mulkey’s comments in a March 11 column, positioning her latest comments as part of a much longer history or being either tone-deaf or intentionally confrontational when speaking to media members.
“After all, this is a coach who—despite a glittering record that includes more than 700 wins and four national titles—never has seemed like a champion for women’s sports,” Newberry wrote. “…As a basketball coach, she’s one of the best ever. As a leader of young people, she leaves a lot to be desired.”
Deadspin‘s Carron J. Phillips criticized Mulkey further, highlighting the racial dynamics at play, as well as Mulkey’s confession that she doesn’t know the rules governing player and coach conduct during the course of a basketball game.
“Instead of calming things down, a white woman poured gasoline on a situation that involved a fight between Black women,” Phillips wrote. “Mulkey’s privilege somehow found a way to shine brighter than one of those tacky outfits she wears on the sidelines.”
Phillips also took note of the sharp contrast between the reaction of Mulkey and Staley’s reactions.
“Who did what to who on Sunday isn’t nearly as important as who said what and how they said it after the game,” he wrote. “When college kids fight, we look to the adults to be the leaders in the room. Dawn Staley presented herself as an elder stateswoman of the sport. Kim Mulkey behaved like a clown.”
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