UCLA women's basketball coach Cori Close apologized to the LSU women's team and head coach Kim Mulkey for sharing a column from the Los Angeles Times that framed the Tigers as "basketball's villains."
"I made a mistake," Close said in a statement posted to X. "I reposted that article after reading the headline, not the contents of the column. In an effort to increase coverage for our game, I shared it and went back to try to stay focused on my task at hand. ... I made a huge mistake in reposting without reading it first, and I am very sorry for that."
Cori Close @CoachCoriCloseRegarding the Los Angeles Times column. <a href="">
Prior to UCLA's matchup with LSU in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA women's basketball tournament, the L.A. Times' Ben Bolch attempted to contrast the two programs.
"Do you prefer the team that wants to grow women's basketball or the one seemingly hellbent on dividing it?" he wrote early into the column.
While much of his criticism toward the Tigers was directed at Mulkey, Bolch said star forward Angel Reese "can't get out of her own way" and pointed to her trash-talking on the court.
His praise of UCLA also went over the top. He said the team "operates in the saintly shadows while being as wholesome as a miniature stuffed Bruin mascot."
There's no question Mulkey is a divisive figure who has warranted scrutiny. The Washington Post's Kent Babb—in a profile Mulkey preemptively described as a "hit piece"—pointed to what has made the legendary coach such a lightning rod.
The column includes a note that "a previous version of this commentary did not meet Times editorial standards," with the piece getting updated. Among the changes was removing a line calling LSU "dirty debutantes."
Jim Trotter @JimTrotter_NFLMulkey has every right to be upset with this column. It's horribly framed and patently offensive. How he was allowed to call the LSU players "dirty debutants" defies explanation. Just awful. <a href="">
Tigers star Hailey Van Lith told reporters she thought some of the wording used by Bolch crossed a clear line. She added more broadly her teammates receive a disproportionate share of negative remarks that she believes is fueled by a level of racism.
Michael Merrick @MichaelMerrick_Hailey van Lith talks about the 'racist' remarks originally written in the LA Times preview of the UCLA v. LSU matchup<br><br>"Some of the words in that article were very sad and upsetting... calling us basically the 'dirty debutantes' that has nothing to do with sports" <a href="">
Mulkey was equally disparaging toward Bolch's column.
"You can criticize coaches all you want," she told reporters. "That's our business. You can come at us and say you're the worst coach in America. I hate you, I hate everything about you. We expect that. It comes with the territory.
"But the one thing I'm not going to let you do, I'm not going to let you attack young people, and there were some things in this commentary that you should be offended by as women. It was so sexist. It was good versus evil in that game today. Evil? Called us dirty debutantes? Are you kidding me?"
The Tigers pulled away late against the Bruins and earned a 78-69 victory to set up a rematch with Iowa in the Elite Eight on Monday night.
