LSU head coach Kim Mulkey allegedly complained about Angel Reese in emails from her school account.

Mulkey, 61, was the subject of a lengthy story from The Washington Post published Saturday hours before the team’s Sweet 16 game against UCLA. The Tigers coach had preempted its release across two news conferences at the NCAA tournament by threatening to sue over any falsehoods it published despite not knowing what the article would be about.

She is said to have declined multiple interview requests from the newspaper for the story. But, a public records request from the publication allowed it to obtain several emails sent by Mulkey. The coach reportedly mentioned Reese by name in multiple messages, including one said to be to a supporter.

A separate email is also said to include Reese in a complaint about multiple Tigers players that “stay on that social media crap.” The forward has over five million followers across Instagram, TikTok and X (formerly Twitter).

In the one allegedly addressed to a fan, Mulkey shared that Reese’s GPA was why she did not make an awards list. This was already knowledge, though, as the school confirmed to ESPN last March that Reese was not eligible to make the John R. Wooden Award national ballot.

Criteria for the honor given to the most outstanding player in college basketball includes having “a cumulative 2.00 grade-point average since enrolling.” But Mulkey publicly disputed at the time any academic struggles when addressing Reese’s omission.

Reese played for LSU hours after the story surfaced ( 
Image:
Getty Images)
“Oh absolutely, [Reese] is in good academic standing period,” the coach said last March. “It’s just there’s a criteria on some of these awards like, a lot of them will have community service stuff.

“Some of them will have GPAs, yeah. She’s academically fine.” The other non-basketball criteria of the Wooden Award are that “candidates must be full-time students making progress toward graduation,” “exhibit strength of character, both on and off the court,” and “contribute to team effort.”

There were also widespread rumors earlier this season that GPA was behind Mulkey benching Reese for four straight games, though those claims were unsubstantiated. In response to the speculation last November, Reese posted on X: “Don’t believe everything you read.”

Mulkey shared a similar sentiment when anticipating the Washington Post story. “Reporters who give a megaphone to a one-sided embellished version of things aren’t trying to tell the truth,” she said. “They’re trying to sell newspapers and feed the click machine.

“This is exactly why people don’t trust journalists and the media anymore. It’s these kinds of sleazy tactics and hatchet jobs that people are just tired of. I’m fed up, and I’m not gonna let the Washington Post attack this university, this awesome team of young women I have, or me, without a fight.

“I’ve hired the best defamation law firm in the country, and I will sue the Washington Post if they publish a false story about me. Not many people are in a position to hold these kinds of journalists accountable, but I am. And I’ll do it.”

The Washington Post is standing by its reporting, which also chronicled Mulkey’s strained family relationships and treatment of players.