Kim Mulkey didn’t mince words or hold back Friday when asked about rumors circulating she might be weighing retirement.
The LSU coach called that notion “a flat-out lie” and emphasized that not only will she return for her sixth season leading her home-state program, but that she plans to continue her hall-of-fame career in the position until she’s unable to do so.
“I’m not retiring,” she said following the Lady Tigers’ 87-85 loss to Duke in the Sweet 16. “I plan to hire two coaches quickly. I plan to get in the portal and get two or three more players. And take a little time off, go see my grandchildren, who actually flew in and got in late and didn’t even see the game, but I’ll get to visit with ’em tonight in the hotel. But there is no retiring. I think that’s used a lot in recruiting. I think as we get older as coaches, they wanna say, ‘Well, how much longer is she gonna be in the game?’ I’m gonna be in this game unless LSU fires me, OK? Until I can’t put a product on that floor that’s competitive or my health fails me.”
The question was posed amid circulating rumors that Mulkey might be considering otherwise, including a spreading “report” from a social media account claiming to be an LSU insider.
Mulkey took the opportunity to both dispel the rumor and express her frustration with the current landscape of people willing to fabricate or share false information for engagement without concern for accountability or impact.
“You are now explaining to me why my phone was blowing up with that same question,” she said. “And I said to this person, ‘I’m not retiring. Do I look that bad!?’ I don’t know where that came from. I’m only 63, and I’m healthy. With a few stints in my heart, my doctor says I’m good to go. I have no clue where that stuff comes from, guys. I’ve never ever told anybody that. There are moments where you feel like, ‘Why am I doing this?’ But I don’t get how people can just write crap on social media.
“That has to make y’all feel really bad as journalists. Do some of y’all write that crap on there? That has to make you feel terrible. And you get away with it. And people believe it. My mother called, ‘How’s Kramer doing?’ My son. And I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ And she said, ‘Well, he had his leg cut off in an accident today.’ See, older people especially believe that stuff.”
Mulkey transitioned from that example into her emphasis that she has no intentions of retiring and her detailing of the days ahead.
The Lady Tigers are slated to return the bulk of their core, including four starters and several consistent, key bench contributors.
“You’re looking at a team that is very talented, a team that freshmen got a lot of minutes this year, and you add a few to the mix and hope that we’re back in this position again,” she said. “That’s what I hope.”
As LSU’s 20-minutes postgame press conference concluded, Mulkey circled back to the topic to leave the room further emphasizing: “I’m not retiring, though, OK. Y’all make sure you put that out there: Not retiring .”
