ALBANY, N.Y. — Hours before LSU tipped off its Sweet 16 matchup against UCLA, sports/2024/03/30/kim-mulkey-lsu-griner-reese/”>The Washington Post published its highly anticipated profile of coach Kim Mulkey, painting a portrait of a complex woman with a singular drive and unrelenting loyalty that has alienated some family members and impacted her coaching style.

The story touched on all aspects of her life — from her upbringing in rural Louisiana, her estrangement from her father and sister, her coaching style and the way that impacts her players. It also detailed some of her controversies — including Mulkey’s relationships with a number of gay players, including Brittney Griner, who was imprisoned in Russia for 294 days in 2022.

All eyes were on the Post for the past week, after Mulkey threatened legal action against the newspaper in a statement she read before LSU’s second-round game against Middle Tennessee.

During that news conference, Mulkey said of reporter Kent Babb: “The lengths he has gone to try to put a hit piece together. 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 … right before we’re scheduled to tip off. Are you kidding me?

“Not many people are in a position to hold these kinds of journalists accountable, but I am, and I’ll do it.”

Mulkey is in her third season at LSU, which signed her to a 10-year, $36 million extension after she won her fourth national title as a coach last season. She also won three with Baylor, along with two as a player at Louisiana Tech and a gold medal as a player for Team USA at the 1984 Olympic Games.