Kim Mulkey is never afraid to say what she is thinking. The 62-year-old women’s college basketball coach did exactly that on Saturday night but it proved to be inaccurate and made things awkward for a nearby reporter who was just trying to mind her business!
Even if it was intended to be a lighthearted exchange, there was a clear undertone to her voice.
Mulkey, a four-time national champion, is one of the most fiery personalities in women’s college basketball the most fiery personality in college basketball. She demands the utmost respect and holds people to an extremely high standard. She also loves to stir the pot.
This latest press conference call out served as a mix of the two. Mulkey’s wisecrack appeared to be just as much in jest as it was completely serious. It was just as awkward as funny.
LSU lost to Texas by six during the semifinal round of the SEC Tournament on Saturday. Mulkey, who has been away from the team for most of the week due to a personal matter, made her return to the podium after the loss and immediately noticed a group of reporters in the back of the room.
Among them was Lulu Kesin!
Kesin, the South Carolina women’s basketball and football reporter for the Greenville News, works under the greater USA Today umbrella. She was at Bon Secours Wellness Arena to cover the Gamecocks— not the Tigers. Thus, she decided to crush a few mozzarella sticks while she sat in the back of the room to write about South Carolina. Mulkey’s press conference did not concern her whatsoever.
It didn’t matter. Mulkey immediately questioned whether Kesin was there to work or to eat as soon as she sat down at the postgame press conference.
Sitting far away from the press conference, I was off to the side writing when Kim Mulkey saw me take a bite of my mozzarella stick pic.twitter.com/xpUrQfqzVC
— Lulu Kesin (@LuluKesin) March 9, 2025
Her comment was tongue-in-cheek enough to get a laugh out of associate head coach Bob Starkey. However, if you know Kim Mulkey, you know that she was genuinely surprised to see Kesin eating a mozzarella stick on the job — even though she was not there to cover LSU.
And it’s not like Kesin was sitting in the front row! Rather, the opposite!
for context this is how far away I was, I was NOT sitting in the press conference eating pic.twitter.com/GOdQTyq7Fk
— Lulu Kesin (@LuluKesin) March 9, 2025
Nevertheless, Lulu Kesin was put on blast for eating a mozzarella stick during Kim Mulkey’s press conference. It’s always something!