Mulkey shows lack of class – again – in wake of brawl
JUST when you think Kim Mulkey can’t go any lower, the Louisiana State coach manages to defy expectations. After an ugly brawl broke out in the closing minutes of the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game, Mulkey’s lack of class and character revealed itself again as soon as she spoke up.
Instead of taking the high road — a route that rarely has been on Mulkey’s map throughout her storied career — she essentially called out rival South Carolina for not picking on someone its own size.
Mulkey couldn’t help but note that the trouble started when LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson, who checks in at 5-foot-10, was shoved to the court by 6-7 Gamecocks forward Kamilla Cardoso.
“No one wants to be a part of that. No one wants to see that ugliness,” Mulkey said. “But I can tell you this: I wish she would have pushed Angel Reese.”
In Mulkey’s warped view, that would have been more of a fair fight, since Reese is 6-3 and closer in size to Cardoso.
“Don’t push a kid,” Mulkey said, sounding worse with every ill-chosen word. “Don’t push somebody that little. That was uncalled for, in my opinion. Let those two girls that were jawing, let them go at it.”
Sorry, coach, this is college basketball, not the WWE.
The more proper response came from South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, who was downright appalled at what she had witnessed on what should’ve been a day of celebration for her sport.
A much-anticipated matchup between a pair of rivals that captured the last two national championships ended with six players ejected, leaving barely enough to finish the game. (Which, in case you missed it, was won by top-ranked South Carolina 79-72.)
Staley apologized profusely for her team’s actions during the trophy presentation on the court and seemed to grasp far more than Mulkey what sort of impression it left for those watching.
“I just don’t want the people who are tuning in to women’s basketball to see that and think that is our game, because it isn’t,” Staley said. “Our game is a really beautiful thing. To be quite honest, this is a part of it now. So we have to fix it, and we have to move on.”
Mulkey seemed to think the root of the problem was the referees.
“Do you realize there was only one foul called on each team with two minutes to play in the fourth quarter?” Mulkey said. “Are you kidding me? That might have created some of that.”
That’s utter nonsense, of course, but it’s hardly the first time Mulkey’s moral compass has pointed in the wrong direction.
After all, this is a coach who — despite a glittering record that includes more than 700 wins and four national titles — never has seemed like a champion for women’s sports.
She failed to publicly support perhaps the greatest player she’s ever coached, Brittney Griner, after the former Baylor star was arrested on trumped-up charges in Russia.
During her long tenure at the Texas university, Mulkey scoffed at two of the worst scandals in college sports history — both of which occurred at the Baptist institution.
First, there was the 2003 murder of a men’s basketball player by one of his teammates, which sparked a probe into allegations ranging from rampant drug use among players to improper payments by the coaching staff.
Then, more than a decade later, the school was accused of covering up numerous cases of sexual assault involving the football team.
Mulkey could’ve issued a harsh rebuke of the embarrassing revelations, or at the very minimum just kept silent about her employer, but she found if necessary to say this:
“If somebody’s around you, and they ever say, ‘I will never send my daughter to Baylor,’ you knock them right in the face,” Mulkey griped.
As a basketball coach, she’s one of the best ever. As a leader of young people, she leaves a lot to be desired.