Mulkey: Haven't read Post story, will rely on my lawyers

LSU coach Kim Mulkey is deferring to her attorneys regarding Saturday's release of the anticipated Washington Post story about her.

"You're telling me something I didn't know," Mulkey told ESPN's Holly Rowe on Saturday when notified that the article was published. "So you're the bearer of good news or bad news or however you want to look at it.

"But are you really surprised? Are you really surprised by the timing of it? But I can tell you I haven't read it, don't know that I will read it, I'll leave that up to my attorneys."

The Washington Post story, written by longtime reporter Kent Babb and published just hours ahead of Saturday's Sweet 16 matchup between LSU and UCLA, explores Mulkey's upbringing and coaching history. It's supplemented by conversations with her former coaches and ex-players.

Mulkey, who refused to provide comment for the article, said last week that Babb had been seeking to interview her for two years. She added that she believed the paper had been working on a "hit piece" against her and that she would "sue the Washington Post if they publish a false story about me."

In one instance in the story, former Baylor player Kelli Griffin says Mulkey "made my life hell" during her time at the school from 2007-10 and alleges it was because Mulkey discovered she was gay. The now-LSU coach, in letters sent by her lawyers, denied treating gay players differently; Mulkey's attorneys sent an affidavit from Morghan Medlock, another former Baylor player who was enrolled from 2008-10, that said Medlock was in a relationship with Griffin and never saw Mulkey mistreat any gay athletes, including Griffin.

The story also addresses Mulkey's strained relationship with Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner, who starred for the polarizing head coach at Baylor from 2009-13 and helped lead the program to a national championship in her junior year. Mulkey publicly refused to comment when Griner was held in a Russian jail for nearly a year in 2022 for allegedly having cannabis oil in her luggage. In a memoir recounting her ordeal, Griner, who publicly came out as gay only after leaving Baylor, wrote that she and Mulkey didn't get along "because I never really knew if Kim fully accepted me for who I am."

Mulkey drew criticism for a supposed rift with LSU star Angel Reese earlier this season. Though the Tigers coach never publicly revealed why the forward was not with the team for four weeks, Mulkey said in an email last year, obtained by The Washington Post through a public records request, that Reese's grade point average was behind her omission from an unspecified awards list. In a separate email, Mulkey criticized Reese for being one of multiple players "who stay on that social media crap."

Reese did not provide comment for the Washington Post's story. However, in December, she alluded to her mental health as the reason behind her near two-week absence.

“Mental health is the most important thing before anything and I’m going to make sure I’m OK before anything because I don’t want to cause harm or any cancer in the locker room,” Reese said, according to The Associated Press' Brett Martel.