LSU women’s head basketball coach Kim Mulkey recently addressed a yet-to-be published Washington Post article during a press conference in which she threatened a lawsuit.
Well, this “hit piece” has now been published, and it unsurprisingly levels some unflattering claims against Mulkey.
It alleges that the 61-year-old subjected homosexual members of her former team at Baylor to harsher treatment than others.
Kelli Griffin, who was part of Mulkey’s Baylor team from 2007 to 2010, asserts that her former coach made her life unbearable and singled her out upon discovering her sexual orientation.
While acknowledging Mulkey as an ‘amazing coach’ and expressing her initial admiration by joining Baylor to play under her, Griffin insinuates that Mulkey scrutinized her attire and imposed a suspension that ultimately ended her career, solely upon learning about her sexuality.
The ex-point guard claims that Mulkey started questioning her attire immediately upon her arrival at Baylor’s campus, asking why she “dressed like a boy.” Mulkey purportedly insisted that ‘a lady wears a dress’, disapproving of Griffin’s choice of baggy jeans, basketball shorts, or sweats.
Recalling her thoughts at the time, Griffin remarked, “Okay, this lady might not like gay people.”
Mulkey, a four-time NCAA Division 1 champion, is also accused of engaging in a decade-long feud with Brittney Griner, who was once her star player at Baylor.
Griner, who spent 294 days in a Russian prison in 2022 for carrying a vape cartridge containing less than a gram of hash oil, is also a member of the LGBTQ+ community, having come out as lesbian in 2013.
However, according to the report, even Griner’s experience wasn’t sufficient to alleviate the tension between her and Mulkey. Allegedly, Mulkey instructed players to conceal their sexuality and ‘”keep your business behind closed doors,” as written by Griner in her memoir.
Another former player at Baylor, Emily Niemann, asserts that Mulkey once cautioned her to “be careful” after she was seen in Waco, Texas, with another woman. Amid speculation about her sexuality, Niemann recalls her coach warning her: “It’s not a good look.”
Given that Baylor is the world’s largest Baptist university, with policies defining marriage as between a man and a woman, Mulkey advised Niemann to be cautious as “the program would be watching.”
The Post’s report on the college basketball icon also alleges that she would “call out players if they gained weight” and “instructed the team’s strength coach to conduct weigh-ins in front of the team.”
Griffin and another unnamed player also claim they were unable to discuss non-basketball matters with Mulkey, leading them to confide in assistant coaches instead.
Niemann and several other players assert that “shame was a common tactic in Mulkey’s coaching approach, whether during practice drills or team meetings.” Some chose to speak anonymously due to concerns about potential retaliation within the women’s basketball community.
Mulkey’s attorney have denied that her treatment of gay players was “different” or “more harsh.”
The LSU women’s basketball team is currently in the midst of an NCAA tournament run as they defeated the UCLA Bruins Saturday afternoon to advance to the Elite Eight.
