Kim Mulkey reminds everyone she's the real victim of the Angel Reese drama
LSU star Angel Reese is returning to basketball, but the real story is Kim Mulkey, according to Kim Mulkey.
On Wednesday, the women’s basketball coach held media availability to give several updates on the team. “Angel’s back. Kateri is not, and Sa’Myah is done for the year“, Mulkey dumped before sitting down to answer questions. Wow.
To the shock of nobody in the room but Kim Mulkey, there were thoughts about what this meant for the team moving forward, mainly because the college hoops world had been nearly in the dark about Reese’s status. (Even Angel had gone radio silent and had only been posting in coded messages.)
As she responded to those in the room, Mulkey doubled down on how she had addressed the media, saying how much it had bothered her to answer continual questions about Reese.
Kim Mulkey was asked about going for win No. 700 against Virginia Tech tomorrow night.
She launches into what’s been “aggravating” about being asked questions about Angel Reese over the last couple of weeks: (Part 1/2)#LSU pic.twitter.com/CEcTjMM1AP
— Cory Diaz (@ByCoryDiaz) November 29, 2023
But she wasn’t done there. She expressed that the “personal attacks” she has received over the last several days are “not journalism” in her book.
“Maybe I’m too old. Maybe I need to get out. But, you get realness with me … I can’t sugarcoat things. I feel like people want the truth, but I’m also going to do what? I’m going protect my players.”
Part 2#LSU pic.twitter.com/8bypBI65rp
— Cory Diaz (@ByCoryDiaz) November 29, 2023
Here’s the problem: Mulkey told the media earlier in November, “Just write what I tell you.” So, they did.
Now, she’s seemingly frustrated because many covering one of college basketball’s biggest stories dared to do what good journalists do: read the dynamics in a room, pick up on context clues, add deeper thinking and *checks notes* write what she told them to make their stories.
Yet, shifting the blame to others for what’s being written about Reese implies that Mulkey believes she is the victim. She’s the one who is being vilified.
After all, when she has given multiple non-answers on her star basketball player and has a well-documented pattern of NOT protecting her players (hello, Brittney Griner), why would anyone not take her words and actions as doing what’s best for her players?
I, for one, am shocked. Mystified. Bamboozled. Flummoxed. (You get it.)
Kim Mulkey could have spoken up if she wanted the narratives around Angel Reese to be different. She was well within her rights to say whatever she wanted, but no one was entitled to believe her.