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.
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.
“I told this reporter two years ago that I didn’t appreciate the hit job he wrote on (LSU football coach) Brian Kelly, and that’s why I wasn’t going to do an interview with him.”
The Daily Advertiser’s scope of its record request only included the previous 30 days. The first correspondence between The Washington Post and LSU during that time dates back to Feb. 8.
Babb’s email to Kauvar said that he had a conversation with then LSU Associate Athletics Director Chief Brand Officer Cody Worsham, and that Babb wanted to revisit “the possibility of a nice profile of Kim, and about my visiting sometime soon to pitch her face to face.”
The following day, Feb. 9, Kauvar emailed Babb that “at this time we will pass on the opportunity.”
Babb requested another sit-down with Mulkey that same day, mentioning he had read her book. LSU declined again, as Kauvar wrote on Feb. 13, “at this point in time Coach Mulkey would deny a request to speak with The Washington Post on or off the record. She said she is focused on finishing the final part of the season with her team.”
Babb did later apply for, was approved for, a credential for LSU’s regular-season home finale versus Kentucky on March 3 and was in attendance. He stayed in Baton Rouge the following two days in hopes of getting an interview with Mulkey.
According to the emails, the next time Babb reached out via written correspondence, hoping to talk with Mulkey for the story, was March 19 at 6:17 p.m., providing the “summary” of things in an “effort at fairness, transparency and professionalism.” He noted that The Washington Post’s deadline to make any changes to the story was 11 a.m. Thursday, March 21, and that he would be available by phone until 1 p.m. CT on March 20 and reachable by email after that.
Worsham conveyed to Babb on Wednesday, March 20, that because of the “seriousness of some of these allegations, which spanned decades and many of which we have no information or recollection, we need more time and information to adequately address them as a staff and to consult with legal counsel.”
LSU expanded on The Post’s allegations via email on March 20, requesting “more time to gather facts to address these potentially libelous allegations, which span several decades. We are currently preparing for an NCAA Tournament game and need more time to address them adequately. More information on who is making these allegations. Many of these allegations are vague and without knowing who is making them or the timeframe in which they allegedly occurred, we cannot properly address them. Please provide the names of those who are on the record and more details regarding those off the record to help clarify and inform our response.
“At this time, we see multiple factual errors that need to be corrected,” the email said.
More:LSU's Kim Mulkey responds to Washington Post profile: 'Are you really surprised by the timing?'
More:Kim Mulkey press conference: Everything LSU women's coach said on impending Washington Post story
The same day, Babb told LSU that with it being the start of the NCAA Tournament, that timing was impacted on The Washington Post’s end as well. But he did provide LSU with a few names of sources who spoke with him on the record, and they all were included in the story when it published: former Baylor players Kelli Griffin, Emily Niemann and DiDi Richards.
Babb mentioned he couldn’t share identities of some of his sources because of “credible fears about possible retribution after speaking honestly about sensitive matters, particularly in the close-knit women’s basketball community.” Information from some unnamed sources was used in the Washington Post story.
Mulkey said she had hired “the best defamation law firm in the country” and would sue the outlet if it published a false story about her.
Per the emails, The Washington Post also worked through its legal team while Babb worked on the story.
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