Shannon Sharpe on LSU-South Carolina brawl: 'We’ve got to do a better job of holding Kim Mulkey accountable’

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley and LSU coach Kim Mulkey had very different comments after their teams were involved in a scuffle in Sunday’s SEC Championship game.

Dawn Staley showed remorse and apologized for her team’s part in the incident. However, Kim Mulkey went a different direction.

“I wish she’d have pushed Angel Reese,” Mulkey said of South Carolina star Kamilla Cardoso. “Don’t push a kid. You’re 6-8. Don’t push somebody that little. That was uncalled for, in my opinion. Let those two girls that were jawing, let them go at it.”

ESPN First Take debated the comments by Staley and Mulkey on Monday morning’s show. Needless to say, Shannon Sharpe had a problem with what Mulkey said.

“Did you see the two differences in the stories and the coaches? You see what Dawn Staley said and how she tried to downplay it. And you see Kim Mulkey, and how she tried to up play it.” Sharpe said. “… Really? Is that what you want? You want to see a fight? You want the women’s game to be marred by a fight? Really? Come on, Kim Mulkey. You’ve got to be better.”

South Carolina went on to earn a 79-72 win, beating LSU for the second time this season.

This isn’t the first time Sharpe has had an issue with comments made by Kim Mulkey. However, he believes she has gotten a pass because she has won so much, including last year’s national title.

“Kim Mulkey has gone a long time and escaped criticism for the things that she’s said. Let’s hold Kim Mulkey to the same standards and the high levels that we hold all of these other great coaches to,” Sharpe said. “We’ve got to do a better job of holding her accountable. … She says and does a lot of things that rub me the wrong way. I’m not going to apologize for being as harsh and as stern as I am because of what she had to say yesterday.”

Fellow ESPN First Take debater Stephen A Smith echoed Sharpe’s comments. He also had a big issue with Mulkey seemingly looking to escalate the situation, rather than calm everyone down.

“In the end, it does come down to leadership, and when you see Dawn Staley articulate and verbalize her position, and you compare it to Kim Mulkey, Kim Mulkey exercises a lot of leniency, a lot of latitude, with the things that she says. Almost never held accountable for them,” Smith said. “And we know that that would not apply to Dawn Staley.”

You can watch the full comments from Shannon Sharpe on the South Carolina vs. LSU scuffle below:

.@ShannonSharpe shared his thoughts on the scuffle that happened between South Carolina and LSU in the SEC championship game. pic.twitter.com/xdzFXnX9Vt

— First Take (@FirstTake) March 11, 2024