Mulkey Fires Back: LSU Coach Threatens Lawsuit Against Washington Post

In a fiery press conference on the eve of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, LSU head coach Kim Mulkey didn’t mince words when addressing ongoing tensions with the Washington Post. The defending national champion and Hall of Fame coach threatened legal action against the esteemed publication, accusing one of its reporters of pursuing a “hit piece” on her over the past two years.

“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,” Mulkey declared, her voice laced with determination. “Not many people are in a position to hold these kinds of journalists accountable, but I am, and I’ll do it.”

The catalyst for Mulkey’s ire appears to be veteran Post reporter Kent Babb, who has spent months investigating the legendary coach’s career for a planned profile piece. However, Mulkey alleges that Babb’s approach has been anything but fair and balanced.

“The lengths he has gone to try to put a hit piece together,” she stated, referring to Babb though not mentioning him by name. “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?”

Mulkey dismissed the tight turnaround as a deliberate ploy to prevent her from commenting effectively, calling it “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 going to work, buddy.”

The fiery coach also leveled some severe accusations at Babb, claiming he misled her former assistant coaches into believing she had agreed to an interview, only for them to feel “distraught” and “completely misled” upon learning otherwise. Even more damning were Mulkey’s allegations that the reporter had contacted her former players and “offered to let them be anonymous in a story if they’ll say negative things about me.”

While the specific allegations and counter-allegations have yet to be fully substantiated, one thing is clear – the simmering tensions between Mulkey and the Washington Post have now reached a boiling point. With potential legal action looming and the biggest tournament of the year underway, the defending champion Tigers find themselves squarely in the eye of an off-court storm.

As the dramatic scenario continues to unfold, all eyes will be on Babb and the Washington Post to see how they respond to Mulkey’s combative stance and severe accusations. For the iconic coach’s part, she seems prepared to go to war to protect her hard-earned legacy, leaving writers, reporters, and commentators alike to wonder – where exactly will this high-stakes clash between coach and journalist lead?