The Washington Post’s lengthy profile on LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey drew a national spotlight in March after she preemptively addressed the then not-yet-published piece in a fiery press conference.
Mulkey, who was preparing LSU for a second-round NCAA Tournament matchup against Middle Tennessee the following day, led her press conference March 23 with a rare opening statement, calling the story by reporter Kent Babb (whom she did not name) a “hit piece” and saying she had lawyered up, threatening to sue the national publication “if they publish a false story about me.”
The Washington Post’s story published a week later, while LSU was gearing up for a Sweet Sixteen game against UCLA in Albany, New York. Mulkey said at that time that she had not read the story, but that she would have her attorneys do so.
What had Mulkey talking about The Washington Post’s story before it published? And what was The Post seeking to report?
The Daily Advertiser has obtained via an open records request e-mail correspondence between LSU officials and The Post, including Babb, for a span of 30 days predating Mulkey’s press conference. Those emails uncover details that shed light on the line of questioning the outlet had for Mulkey for its profile and LSU’s response to those inquires. Those emails also give insight into what The Post had planned to report against what ultimately published.
It is not uncommon for news organizations to not report everything they pursue for a story for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to protecting sources and inability to verify information.
More:Kim Mulkey vs The Washington Post: Everything we know
A spokesperson for The Washington Post provided a statement to The Daily Advertiser on Friday that it “stands by Kent Babb and his reporting.”
The Post story explored through numerous sources how Mulkey holds grudges, has had contentious relationships with former players and her coaching style, which while controversial has led to the highest levels of success on the court. It also examined her treatment of gay players over the years.
Here’s a look at key topics The Washington Post told LSU it planned to publish that did not appear in the story
Angel Reese allegedly involved in 2022 fight with unnamed teammates in front of recruits
In an e-mail dated March 19 from Babb to LSU Sports Information Director Grant Kauvar, four days before Mulkey addressed the impending story in the press conference, Babb provided LSU with a “summary” of things he felt “warranted a heads up.”
One of those was information Babb wrote he received from multiple individuals regarding a team meeting in 2022 during which players were required to turn off their phones and leave them in another room while Mulkey addressed the team.
Babb wrote, “This was after a fight involving Angel Reese, witnessed by one of my sources, that occurred in front of visiting recruits. One of these individuals present in the team meeting shared that Mulkey said: ‘This entire locker room is trash.’”
The Daily Advertiser, part of the USA Today Network, has been unable to independently confirm whether Reese was involved in a fight. Efforts to get comment from Reese through her WNBA team the Chicago Sky were unsuccessful. LSU did not comment on the matter.
Mulkey’s estranged relationship with her former star player at Baylor, Brittney Griner, is well-documented. While Griner was detained in Russia for much of 2022 on drug charges, The Daily Advertiser asked Mulkey for comment on her former player but she declined, saying “you won’t.”
In Babb’s e-mail, he wrote “an LSU player was disciplined as a result of screenshotting and sharing a social media message of support for Griner during Griner’s detainment.”
That was not part of the published story. The Advertiser was unable to confirm whether an LSU player was disciplined and the school declined to comment.
During Mulkey’s news conference on March 23, she said The Washington Post had been working on the story for a long time, mentioning “the lengths (Babb) has gone to try and put a hit piece together. This reporter has been working on a story about me for two years. 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.