Kim Mulkey hasn’t won five NCAA basketball titles as a player and coach by buddying up with media.
But with one scathing response to a student reporter following Sunday’s season-ending Elite Eight loss to top-ranked UCLA, the 62-year-old LSU coach appears to have crossed a line in the eyes of fans.
Asked about the Lady Tigers’ second straight Elite Eight exit in the NCAA tournament by KLSU’s Jayden Smith, Mulkey initially appeared amused.
‘That’s terrible, isn’t it?’ she said, slightly off mic.
Smith laughed before attempting to continue with his question, but Mulkey wanted an answer to her own query.
‘Is that terrible or is that good?’ asked Mulkey.
Kim Mulkey asked KLSU’s Jayden Smith (right) how many Final Fours he’s played in
LSU Lady Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey reacts after a play against the UCLA Bruins
Now the object of Mulkey’s intense focus, Smith agreed that two consecutive losses in the Elite Eight were, indeed, ‘terrible.’
But apparently that was not the answer Mulkey was looking for, so she responded with a rather scornful dig, framed as a question.
‘How many Final Fours you play in?’ Mulkey asked.
To Smith’s credit, he did not get rattled by the famously irascible coach. He simply said, ‘none,’ which appeared to break the tension somewhat.
‘So it’s probably pretty good, huh?’ Mulkey followed.
Smith agreed, Mulkey said ‘alright,’ and the two got back to the business of the press conference.
‘How would you sum up the journey to this Elite Eight and how does it differ from last year?’ Smith asked.
Mulkey’s demeanor quickly changed, and she gave a detailed answer about the LSU program’s transition from one year to the next. But meanwhile, online, many fans were expressing anger at the decorated coach’s treatment of a student reporter.
‘She’s such a sore loser,’ one critic remarked after LSU fell 72-65 to UCLA.
‘This woman is so toxic,’ another added.
One fan asked how many Final Fours Mulkey played in before realizing she won the AIAW Division I crown with Louisiana Tech in 1981 before taking the first women’s NCAA title the following season while at Louisiana Tech.
‘I stand corrected,’ the commenter added. ‘I did not know her game.’
Mulkey, a four-time champion coach at Baylor who led LSU to the 2023 NCAA title, did have her supporters online.
‘Female Nick Saban,’ one fan wrote, comparing Mulkey to the gruff former Alabama and LSU football coach. ‘Love her.’
Louisiana sports radio reporter Charles Hanagriff agreed: ‘I love Kim Mulkey…she don’t take no crap off nobody…I covered Saban…they the same.’
‘She is definitely legendary!’ another added.
