‘Very, very rude’ – Stephen A Smith joins Shannon Sharpe to eviscerate ‘nasty’ Kim Mulkey after reporter feels LSU coach wrath

LSU's season came to an end on Sunday night.

The third-seeded Tigers fell to Lauren Betts and No.1 UCLA 72-65 in their Elite Eight matchup of the NCAA Tournament.

It's the third consecutive season LSU have reached the national quarterfinal, with the last two ending in the Elite Eight.

One courageous reporter, Jayden Smith of KLSU Sports, pointed that out to head coach Kim Mulkey in her postgame press conference, but she cut him off mid sentence and responded in typically spiky fashion.

“That’s terrible, isn’t it?” Mulkey said.

After a chuckle from Smith, Mukley asked, “Is that terrible, or is that good?”

“Terrible,” Smith replied.

“Is it? How many Final Fours (did) you play in?” Mulkey asked.

When Smith replied that he had never played in a Final Four, Mulkey said, “So it’s probably pretty good, huh?”

Mulkey has become known for her blunt responses with the media, although this may have been more tongue in cheek.

The clip that was shared on social media cuts off before Mulkey could be seen winking as Smith continued on with his question about comparing to the two seasons.

Nevertheless, NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe caught wind of Mulkey's reponse and didn't hold back in his assessment of her.

"Really?" Sharpe said on his Nightcap podcast while watching the footage back.

Co-host Chad 'Ochocinco' Johnson defended Mulkey she was just heated after losing the game.

"Has she not lost a game before?" Sharpe asked.

"He didn't even get a chance to finish the question. For you to snap back. Really?!

"Kim Mulkey has been nasty for a very long time. And she's gotten away with this type of behaviour because she's a national champion winning head coach.

"She has a history of doing this. People excuse behaviour if you win.

"She's been nasty for an extremely long period of time. This is unacceptable from Kim Mulkey."

ESPN star Stephen A. Smith agreed with Sharpe's verdict.

"I'm not going to take away from the fact that Kim Mulkey is a great coach and an established coach," he began on Monday's First Take.

"We just need to finally say this about her: She's very rude. She's very rude.

"I mean, she's rude, she's condescending - and unnecessarily so - to too many people. But it's always with the right one.

"See, she doesn't go up to the wrong ones like that. It's almost like she knows, Shannon, who to do that to and who not to do that to.

"Certain people, they will clap back at you. But she is a phenomenal coach. One of the best ever."

Mulkey won a national title in 2023 with an LSU roster that included current WNBA star Angel Reese.

The Tigers beat Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes in a highly controversial game that included Reese's now infamous 'you can't see me' gesture towards Clark.

Many deemed that game to be the birth of the Reese-Clark rivalry, who have both massively contributed to a huge surge in interest around women's basketball.

Clark would get her revenge in 2024, putting on a show to destroy Reese and then teammate Hailey Van Lith in the Elite Eight.

The Tigers are 96-13 overall (.881) under Mulkey and have been a No. 3 seed in each of their four seasons under her.

The latest defeat to UCLA brings Mulkey to 13 appearances in the Elite Eight since 2005 at Baylor and LSU.

She has won four national championships.

UCLA, meanwhile march into the Final Four for the first time in their history.

They will face projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, Paige Bueckers, and the UConn Huskies on Friday night in Tampa, Florida for a place in the national championship.