Known for her wild outfit choices, high standards, and questionable morals, Kim Mulkey is one of the most famous names in college basketball – but she’s not a player. The head basketball coach at Louisiana State University made headlines this week after she was photographed wearing a basketball hoop sweater while on the sideline of the Tiger’s home game against Auburn on Saturday.
Mulkey’s outfit choice honored the home game’s theme: Dress like Kim Mulkey. The championship-winning women’s basketball coach has become renowned for her sparkly, exaggerated, and campy outfits. She admits most of her game-day fits are gifted by Queen of Sparkles, a Louisna-based designer.
Despite her flamboyant, drag-queen-esque outfits, Mulkey is also widely known by many for her anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments. Just hours before LSU’s tip-off in the 2024 NCAA Sweet Sixteen match, The Washington Post published a bombshell expose on Mulkey, revealing many of her bigoted views. The article noted that she is “known to hold grudges and clash with players, including about their appearances and displays of their sexuality.”
Mulkey was the college coach of professional basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained in Russia for allegedly smoking pot. Griner is also openly gay, which is illegal in Russia. Despite her former student facing years in one of the harshest prison systems in the world, Mulkey refused to make a statement regarding the issue, holding a long-term grudge after a falling out with Griner. In her 2014 memoir, Griner wrote at length about the high demands of coach Mulkey – on and off the court. According to Griner, she pressured players to cover up any visible tattoos and avoid posting online about their sexualities.
Mulkey is well-known in sports for demanding perfection from herself and her students. Raised in Tickfaw, Louisiana, she was the valedictorian of her high school and led the women’s basketball team to four consecutive championships. Despite her small stature, Mulkey was a point guard at Louisiana Tech University, where she won the first NCAA title in 1982. In 1984, she won a gold medal in the Olympics playing for Team USA.
A complex woman, Kim Mulkey is a powerhouse coach, a fashionista, and a small-town southern woman with traditional beliefs. Whether fans love her or hate her, there’s no denying Mulkey knows how to make a statement.