Nicki Collen takes umbrage at claim Baylor program was 'left to wither' in The Washington Post profile of Kim Mulkey
Kim Mulkey, the LSU women’s head basketball coach, wasn’t the only person upset about The Washington Post profile which contrasted her success against the human cost of the way she does business. Baylor head women’s basketball coach Nicki Collen also took umbrage with a specific line in the story.
Collen took issue with a line near the kicker of the profile, reported and written by Kent Babb. The line in question states “Baylor is no longer among the sport’s upper tier, another structure abandoned and left to wither” in reference to programs Mulkey had coached at and then left.
Collen offered a thorough response to the idea that the Baylor women’s basketball program has been “left to wither” after the Bears lost a close Sweet 16 game to No. 1 seed USC on Saturday evening.
“I’m not afraid to say I was really, really offended by the article that came out,” Collen said. “I didn’t read any of it. I didn’t read any of it Don’t know what happened, but nothing’s withering in Waco. Nothing is withering in Waco. And we’re going to do it our way and it’s going to be just as good. But nothing is withering and we are not not a first tier team and you can’t say we are. You can’t get to the Sweet 16 and take a #1 seed down to the wire in a one possession game and say anything is withering in Waco.”
In the three seasons that Collen has been in charge in Waco, the Bears have won 20-plus games in all three campaigns and made the NCAA Tournament all three seasons. In each of those NCAA Tournament appearances, Baylor has won at least a game.
As such, Collen went beyond just refuting the assertion that anything is withering in Waco.
“There’s a lot blooming, I’m not going to say withering,” Collen said. “There’s some stuff blooming in Waco. If he wants to come do an article and come to Waco and write about it next year, he’s welcome.”
Mulkey called out the timing of the profile being published
Mulkey told ESPN’s Holly Rowe just before LSU’s Sweet 16 game on Saturday that she hadn’t yet read the piece. She reiterated that she hadn’t read it after the game, while also commenting on the story more broadly.
She seemed perturbed at the timing of the release, as much as anything else.
“Imagine that. Must have thought y’all would look at it, right?” Mulkey said after the Tigers advanced to the Elite Eight. “Get some clicks or it’d be a distraction. No, ma’am. I haven’t read it and I probably won’t read it. I probably will have my attorneys communicate with me to see if there’s anything in there that we need to be concerned about.”
That echoed her earlier comment to Rowe, which suggested the piece was about disrupting LSU’s season. The Tigers are on a quest to repeat as national champions and took an important step in that direction with the win over the Bruins on Saturday.
At some point, presumably, Mulkey or her attorneys will get a chance to read the lengthy profile. Whether they find anything objectionable enough to take legal action remains to be seen.