Like it or not, LSU’s season is over, but Kim Mulkey will be back By: Mackenzie Meaney
You can be a good coach but not a great person, and LSU’s Kim Mulkey is a prime example of that with things she has said and how they have impacted those around her.
Watching the LSU-Iowa game last night was exciting for many reasons. Two incredibly talented teams that saw each other in the championship last year had the chance for a repeat. The result could have been an LSU victory, a replay of what happened a year ago, or the powerhouse force that is Caitlin Clark could step up and avenge last season.
And that is what happened. Clark and her teammates stepped up, winning 94-87 and securing a spot in Cleveland for the Final Four.
While it is sad for the LSU team, who were so good for so long, to have their season end like this, we no longer have to watch head coach Kim Mulkey outshine with her disco ball adjacent looks on the sidelines.
Mulkey is a great coach. You don’t have a nearly undefeated record or win two national championships as a player and five as a coach if you aren’t good at what you do. However, you can be a good coach but not the most excellent person. This season, more than ever, we have seen Mulkey have some crass interviews with reporters either in the press conferences or on the sidelines, not reel her players in when games get a little too physical (even if LSU didn’t start the physicality), and of course, all the other stuff from the past—telling former Baylor player Brittney Griner to hide her sexuality, dismissing sexual misconduct that allegedly occurred during her time as coach at Baylor, thinking the NCAA should have gotten rid of their COVID testing protocols during the 2021 March Madness. These are a few moments, but mainly glaring in the eyes of who LSU depends to lead their team to success.
Other coaches have scandals and say things they probably shouldn’t or get mad at the media—however, few claim they will sue the Washington Post for a bombshell article. Mulkey is polarizing; some argue it is good, but sometimes it’s better to be a good person. Her conversation with Iowa’s Clark in the handshake line says it all, “I sure am glad you are leaving.” She meant it pleasantly, with sincerity about how good Clark is and how LSU won’t have to face someone like her for a long time. It’s encouraging that she may be more friendly in the future (at least, we can hope).
Mulkey, as much as she is loud and in your face about how she feels, she will always stand up for herself and her players. With that recent LA Times story, she called out the injustices she saw concerning racism and sexism and held the paper and the writer accountable. She got an apology. That was an essential moment in the women’s sports movement, and no one could create that change better than Mulkey herself.
Now, at the helm of a program that just lost a game where they were the better team, where does this put Mulkey?
She will no doubt be back at LSU due to her contract lasting another decade, but she could lose Angel Reese and Hailey Van Lith to the WNBA draft. Mulkey will figure that out, but hopefully, this offseason, she can take some time to reflect on the very things that make her so loved and so hated and return to the Final Four again. Outside of basketball, the break may lead to introspection, or at least thinking before saying a few things.