The long-awaited Washington Post profile on LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey was published Saturday, and its contents seem unlikely to justify Mulkey’s preemptive threats of a defamation lawsuit against the newspaper.
The nearly 7,000-word article by Kent Babb, titled “The Kim Mulkey way. The LSU coach holds grudges, battles everyone — and keeps winning. But at what cost?”, provides an in-depth look at her life and coaching career.
While reinforcing existing perceptions about her insensitivity toward the LGBTQ+ community and estrangement from family, the piece largely draws from Mulkey’s autobiography, previously published accounts, and on-the-record interviews.
This heavily sourced approach would make it difficult for the coach to prove the story defamed her, which requires showing false statements of fact were made with “actual malice” — meaning the Post knew the statements were false or recklessly disregarded their truth. Much of the potentially unflattering content comes directly from Mulkey’s own words and actions documented over the years.
The story revisits the coach’s troubled relationship with former player Brittney Griner, who accused the coach of mistreating her for being gay. It also details her alleged feuds with her father and sister. However, the Post includes Mulkey’s representatives’ sworn rebuttals to many of the claims.
From a legal standpoint, it’s unclear what specific statements in the article could be considered defamatory versus protected opinion. And Louisiana’s anti-SLAPP laws could enable the Washington Post to recoup legal fees if Kim Mulkey proceeded with a frivolous lawsuit designed to intimidate free speech.
While undoubtedly unflattering in portraying her as embattled and holding grudges, the story doesn’t appear to rise to the “false” or “hit piece” characterization Mulkey predicted would trigger a defamation case. Her pre-emptive threats may have generated more interest by speculating salacious content.
Unless Mulkey disputes direct quotes or factual claims attributed to her, suing could open her up to extensive discovery and deposition processes that could make the current portrayal seem tame by comparison.
