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USATSI

LSU women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey opened her press conference on Saturday with a prepared statement about a yet to be published article by the Washington Post. News of a forthcoming story about Mulkey by the Post first began circulating on Friday following a social media post by Sports Illustrated senior writer Pat Forde.  

Based on Mulkey's statements, the piece has been in the works for multiple years, and will not paint her in a positive light. As it has not yet been published, however, details regarding the exact subject matter remain unclear. Mulkey indicated that she declined to sit down for an interview with the reporter and likewise did not answer a set of written questions delivered to the university earlier this week. 

Here are Mulkey's remarks in full:

"I want 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? 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.

"Unfortunately, this is 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 [LSU football coach] Brian Kelly, and that's why I wasn't gonna do an interview with him. After that, the reporter called two former college coaches of mine and left multiple messages that he was 'with me' in Baton Rouge to get them to call him back, trying to trick these coaches into believing that I was working with the Washington Post on a story. When my former coaches spoke to him and found out that I wasn't talking with the reporter, they were just distraught and felt completely misled. 

"Former players have told me that the Washington Post has contacted them and offered to let them be anonymous in a story if they'll say negative things about me. The Washington Post has called former disgruntled players to get negative quotes to include in their story. They're ignoring the 40-plus years of positive stories that they have heard from people about me. 

"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 the click machine. This is exactly why people don't trust journalists and the media anymore. It's these kinds of sleazy tactics and hatchet jobs that people are just tired of. I'm fed up and I'm not gonna let the Washington Post attack this university, this awesome team of young women I have or me without a fight. 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. It's all I'm gonna say about this right now. Now I'm gonna get back to talking about my basketball team and winning this game tomorrow."

The article about Kelly that Mulkey referenced was written by Kent Babb, a sports features writer for the Post. Per his Post bio, "his journalism often explores the intersections of sports and cultural issues, such as politics, mental health, and race." 

LSU received the No. 3 seed in the Albany 2 region in the 2024 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. The Tigers beat No. 14 Rice, 70-60, in the first round on Friday and will play No. 11 Middle Tennessee in the second round on Sunday. That game will be held at Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge.