Louisiana State University’s head coach Kim Mulkey has threatened legal action against The Washington Post this week, stating that their article has been “chasing a hit piece” on her for the past two years, and she was given a deadline for answering questions last week while preparing for the NCAA tournament with the defending national champion Tigers women’s team.
Mulkey spoke about award-winning Post reporter Kent Babb, saying, “He has gone to great lengths to try to piece together a hit job, without mentioning it by name.” “After two years of attempting to schedule an interview with him, he reached out to LSU on Tuesday because we were preparing for more than a dozen questions about the first-round game of the tournament, demanding answers by Thursday, right before we are supposed to tip off. Are you kidding me?”
“It was a ludicrous deadline that neither I nor LSU could possibly meet, and the reporter knew that,” Mulkey continued. “It was simply an attempt to deter me from commenting and distract us from the tournament. It won’t work, pal.”
Babb declined further comment, as did The Washington Post.
Babb has been working at The Washington Post for the last 14 years! When he has entered the national competition of Associated Press three times, he was rated the nation’s best sports editor each year. He has also authored two books: “Beyond the Football Field: Real Life, Real Death, and Football in America,” and “Not a Match: An Unbelievable Rise and Unimaginable Decline of Allen Iverson.”
Mulkey said she warned Babb two years ago that she would not grant him an interview because he did not praise Brian Kelly’s departure, the current LSU and former Notre Dame football coach.
“I am fed up, and I will not allow The Washington Post to attack this university, my fantastic young women’s team, or me without a fight,” Mulkey said. “I have obtained the best legal representation, and I will sue The Washington Post if they publish lies about me.”
“Many people are not in a position to hold such journalists accountable, but I am, and I will,” Mulkey added.
Mulkey also accused Babb of misleading her former assistant coaches into thinking that she had consented to speak with them for an interview.
“When my former coaches spoke with him and learned that I wasn’t talking to the reporter, they were simply distraught and felt completely misled,” Mulkey said.
Mulkey further stated that former players had informed her that The Post had “contacted them and offered to keep them anonymous in a story if they spoke negatively about me.”
“The Washington Post has stooped to obtaining negative quotes from former disgruntled players to include in their story,” Mulkey said. “They are ignoring positive stories from over 40 years.”
“As you can see, they’re feeding a sensationalized version to sell newspapers and feed the click machine, not trying to tell the truth,” Mulkey concluded. “This is why people no longer trust journalists and the media. These are the kinds of lazy tactics and hatchet jobs that people are tired of.”
