The Los Angeles Times faced backlash from LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey for a column that referred to the players as “villains” and “dirty debutantes” ahead of their game against UCLA. Mulkey criticized the column as sexist and hurtful, defending her players and stating that such attacks on young athletes were unacceptable. The Times later updated the column, removing the offensive references and acknowledging that the original version did not meet editorial standards.
Despite initially being unaware of the response to her comments, Mulkey’s players praised her for allowing them to be themselves on and off the court. They described themselves as “good villains” who are changing the game and supporting each other. Player Hailey Van Lith highlighted the bigotry that some of her Black teammates face and expressed disappointment at the article’s hurtful words. Mulkey reiterated her stance on not reading another newspaper article, indicating a potential defamation lawsuit.
A profile of Mulkey published in The Washington Post examined various aspects of her life, including relationships with family members and former players. The profile touched on positive and negative aspects of her personality and sparked a threat from Mulkey of a defamation lawsuit. Despite the attention surrounding the profile, Mulkey downplayed its impact and stated that her lawyers would handle any further steps after the season concludes.
After defeating UCLA in the game, Mulkey responded to questions about the article with false surprise, indicating that she had not read it and likely would not. The season for LSU began with a surprising loss and some locker-room issues, but the team bounced back and entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 3 seed. They are aiming to become the first back-to-back champions since UConn in 2016 and will face top-seeded Iowa in a rematch of last year’s national title game. The team is focused on their performance on the court amid off-court distractions and controversies.
