Kim Mulkey steps out minutes after Washington Post 'hit piece' as she puts on a brave face in multicolored suit ahead of LSU-UCLA March Madness showdown

Kim Mulkey put on a brave face as she left LSU's team hotel before their March Madness clash with UCLA - just minutes after the Washington Post finally published its 'hit piece' on her.

Amid rumors of the outlet's plans to run a controversial story, Mulkey threatened to sue the Post last week if they published alleged information she claims is 'false'.

Despite that warning, the story in question was finally released on Saturday morning; and it alleges that the 61-year-old held grudges and clashed with gay members of her former team Baylor. 

Ex-Baylor point guard Kelli Griffin alleges that Mulkey made her life 'hell' after finding out that she was gay, while another former player, Emily Niemann, claims she warned her to 'be careful' when she was spotted out with another woman.

Not long after the Post published the report, the Tigers coach was seen stepping out of their team hotel in a multicolored dress hours before their Sweet 16 showdown against UCLA.

Mulkey looked unfazed as she made her way to Tiger Stadium, where her LSU team will continue the defense of their national crown.

Griffin, who played for Mulkey's Baylor from 2007-10, believes her former coach only targeted her after learning that she was gay.

Despite branding her an 'amazing coach', and admitting that she only moved to Baylor to play under her, she claimed Mulkey drew attention to her clothes and issued her a suspension that would ultimately end her career only after learning of her sexuality.

Griffin also alleges that she began asking why she 'dressed like a boy' as soon as she arrived on campus at Baylor, while telling her that 'a lady wears a dress' as opposed to baggy jeans, basketball shorts or sweats. 

'Okay, this lady might not like gay people,' she recalls thinking at the time.

Mulkey, a four-time NCAA Division 1 winner, is also accused of having a decade-long feud with Brittney Griner - once her star player at Baylor. 

Griner, who spent 294 days in a Russian prison in 2022 after entering the country with a vape cartridge containing less than a gram of hash oil, is also a member of the LGBTQ+ community after coming out as lesbian in 2013.

However, even that experience wasn't enough to ease the tension between her and Mulkey, the report continues, after the latter allegedly instructed players to hide their sexuality and 'keep your business behind closed doors', Griner wrote in her memoir.

Niemann, meanwhile, claims that Mulkey once urged her to 'be careful' after she was spotted in Waco, central Texas, with a woman.

Amid speculation over her sexuality, Niemann recalls her then-coach telling her: 'It's not a good look.' 

Given Baylor is the world’s largest Baptist university, and its policies define marriage as between a man and woman, Mulkey told her to be careful as 'the program would be watching.'

Mulkey's attorneys reportedly denied treating gay players 'more harshly or differently'.

The Post's report on the college-basketball icon also alleges that she 'called out players if they gained weight' and 'instructed the team’s strength coach to conduct weigh-ins in front of the team.'

Griffin and another unnamed player also say they weren't able to take non-basketball matters to Mulkey, meaning they were forced to confide in assistant coaches instead. 

Niemann and multiple other players, meanwhile, allege that 'shame was a frequent tool in Mulkey’s coaching arsenal, whether during practice drills or in addresses to the team.' Some spoke anonymously out of fear of retaliation in the women's basketball community. 

Mulkey's attorneys are said to have described the allegations from her former players as 'too vague to respond to'. 

Her legal representatives did not respond, however, to claims that staffers at both Baylor and LSU mitigated the risk of her tirades being recorded by barring phones from the room.