Kim Mulkey and Dawn Staley hate each other. They are perhaps the most compelling and fiercely contested combatants in the history of the sport.
For now, their mutual contempt is hidden or at least unrecognized. They’re a guise of shared admiration that sports media sells to avoid the burden of dealing with the complexities of a relationship as rocky as the culture at large.
LSU made Kim Mulkey the highest-paid coach in women’s basketball for the express purpose of beating Dawn Staley. It’s a labor of love.
Staley and Mulkey are the Obamas and Trumps of women’s college basketball. The fault lines are clearly visible whenever Staley’s South Carolina Siamcocks are scheduled to play Mulkey’s Louisiana State Tigers.
The schedule worked out for Sunday as the Tigers and Siamcocks clashed for the SEC postseason title. As usual, the ugly war continued. For much of the fourth quarter, both teams traded elbows, shoves, taunts and trash talk. At one point, LSU star Angel Reese pulled the hair of Camila Cardoso, a 6-foot-7 South Carolina center imported from Brazil.
Finally, with two minutes left, my emotions got the better of me. Cardoso pushed Frauge Johnson, who is 5 feet 10 inches tall, to the ground. He cleared both benches. No punches were thrown. Nothing actually happened. It wasn’t a brawl. It was a scrum. The game was stopped for 20 minutes while the referee reviewed the footage and removed players from both teams.
No. 1 and undefeated South Carolina won 79-72.
Mr. Staley apologized for the incident.
“I just want to apologize to the basketball community,” she told ESPN before going on the defensive. “When you play in a championship game like this in our league, things get heated. There’s no malicious intent. Sometimes things like this happen because their emotions get ahead of them. We’re complicit in that too. We want to apologize for being there, because that’s not who we are and that’s not who we are. But I’m happy that our players were able to finish the game and win the championship again.”
Marquis is a little more transparent than Staley. Mulkey did not apologize. She knows exactly what and who LSU and South Carolina are. they are brawlers. The players are the agents of war between the energetic and small-bodied coaches. They play the physical brand of basketball that the SEC allows.
“Let me just say this,” Mulkey said in the postgame press conference. “Do you realize that with two minutes left in the fourth quarter, there was only one foul called for each team? Are you kidding me? That may have contributed to some of that. . That’s not how we play. We’re going to get your ass dirty. They’re going to get your ass dirty. Did you only blow the whistle once? Think about it now.”
A year ago, Iowa coach Lisa Bruder respectfully described Staley’s rebounding against her team as “like going to a bar fight.” Staley, who never shied away from playing the race card, complained long and loudly that Bruder’s explanation was racially motivated.
Staley fantasizes that he coaches a beautiful style of play. She thinks she is Muhammad Ali, and the gamecock flutters like a butterfly and stings like a bee. it’s not. They’re Big George Foreman. They win through violence and intimidation. Everyone knows that.
After the game, Angel Reese said, “We’re not afraid of South Carolina.” “And I’m going to repeat that. We’re not afraid of South Carolina. A lot of people are afraid of them. We came in and fought, fought, and fought.”
What’s at the root of Staley and Mulkey’s blood feud?
envy. envy. right. heritage. Power.
Women’s college basketball is the most popular sport in America. Its growth and traction extends beyond the Caitlin Clark phenomenon. The NBA’s pursuit of international relevance and her one-and-done rule destroyed American men’s basketball. Men’s college basketball has never been more important. This decline is accelerating the growth of women’s competition. The women’s players stay with her for four to five years, building big brands and creating compelling stories.
Women’s college basketball is truly amazing. Staley and Mulkey are arguing over who will reign as the queen of the game.
The sports media crowned Staley a queen. She co-stars with former Duke University men’s coach Mike Krzyzewski in a national television commercial. Every offseason, she is rumored to be a potential NBA head coach.
The corporate media is fawning over Dawn Staley. she is black She is romantically involved with a former player (Kaela Davis) and her longtime assistant coach, Lisa Boyer (Lisa Boyer). She patrols the sidelines wearing androgynous hoodies, sweatsuits, and jackets meant to catch the eye of her allies. Staley checks all the right boxes.
The reality is that Staley’s coaching resume doesn’t match Mulkey’s coaching resume.
Kim Mulkey won four national titles. Staley won twice. Mulkey is the only person to win a national title as a player, assistant coach, or head coach. Marquis is white. She has been married for 20 years and she has two children. She patrols the sidelines in flashy attire that can best be described as “cougar gear,” meant to make women jealous and men intrigued. Mulkey doesn’t check all the boxes. She often says things that infuriate the mainstream media.
Here’s an example: Mulkey didn’t rally around Brittney Greiner when the WNBA player was imprisoned in Russia. Mulkey coached Greiner at Baylor University. Staley, of course, spoke out in support of the LGBTQ+ icon.
Two years ago, Staley complained that Louisiana State University did not provide Black coach Nikki Fargas with the same level of support as Kim Mulkey. Mulkey didn’t take the bait. She expressed her admiration for Staley.
Believe me, LSU lured Mulkey away from Baylor and instantly made her the highest-paid coach in women’s basketball for the express purpose of beating Dawn Staley. It’s a labor of love.
The feud between Mulkey and Staley will ignite women’s college basketball after Caitlin Clark steps into the WNBA abyss.
