Shannon Sharpe Blasts Kim Mulkey For 'Rude' And 'Nasty' Attitude Following LSU's March Madness Loss

The LSU Tigers lost their Elite Eight matchup against the UCLA Bruins on Sunday, March 30, and head coach Kim Mulkey is facing a lot of backlash.

After the Tigers fell to UCLA, 72-65, Kim Mulkey joined some of her star players for their post-game press conference. There, they would reflect on their performance during the NCAA Tournament, also known as March Madness, and their season, which they ended with a record of 31-6. Mulkey, however, raised eyebrows online and among sports commentators, including Shannon Sharpe and Stephen A. Smith, for how "rude" she was when answering a reporter's question about their team's journey.

Mulkey and the Tigers suffered a close call loss to the Bruins during 2025's March Madness competition, making this the second year in a row they've been eliminated during the Elite Eight.

"This is the second straight year you guys got eliminated in the Elite Eight..." a reporter said to Mulkey before she interrupted him with a comment of her own.

"Is that terrible, or is that good? "she asked him.

"Terrible," the reporter replied, clearly joking, before Mulkey seemed to slam him for being so critical of her team.

"How many Final Fours you play in?" Mulkey asked, to which the reporter replied, "None."

"So, it's probably pretty good, huh?" the SEC coach, who just finished her fourth season with LSU, said.

However, despite Mulkey and her team's amazing season, some people weren't excited to celebrate with her. In fact, many people, including Sharpe, hopped online to share their opinions about her comments.

During his wildly popular podcast, "Nightcap," Sharpe, who also hosts episodes of ESPN's "First Take," didn't waste time blasting Mulkey for chastising the basketball reporter during her team's press conference.

"He didn't even get a chance to finish the question," Sharpe said to his co-host, Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson. "And for you to snap back, saying, 'How many Final Fours have you been to?' Really?"

Later, Sharpe continued sharing his unfiltered opinions about Mulkey, who's won four national championships as a head coach, and criticized the 62-year-old for being "rude" because of her status.

"Kim Mulkey has been nasty for a very long time, and she has gotten away with this type of behavior because she is a National Championship-winning coach. She has a history of doing this," Sharpe said.

"Kim Mulkey has been nasty for an extremely long period of time. If this is unacceptable for an athlete to say, that would be unacceptable. This is unacceptable for Kim Mulkey," he added.

Online, social media users seemed to agree with Sharpe's assessment of Mulkey and her attitude during this year's Elite Eight press conference.

"Lol, it cracks me up when coaches get offended by a basic question. Actually, Mulkey didn’t even let the guy finish asking his question before cutting him off and getting all defensive," one netizen wrote. 

However, others defended her from the backlash, hinting that there was nothing wrong with her response.

"I don't mind this," someone commented. "Fans/media all too often are the softest, yet most critical armchair quarterbacks."

Another ESPN employee with strong feelings about Mulkey's comments and attitude toward the March Madness reporter is Smith.

During Monday's March 31 episode, the analyst, who's recently been embroiled in a massive social media battle with LeBron James, acknowledged Mulkey's dominance as a coach. However, he called her out for her often "condescending" antics.

"We just need to finally say this about her: She's very rude. She's very rude. She's very, very rude. I mean, she's rude, she's condescending, and unnecessarily so to too many people," he said.

Smith continued and shared an interesting thought about Mulkey and her tough exterior.

According to Smith, who also hosts the podcast "The Stephen A. Smith Show," Mulkey seemingly claps back at those she deems "the right one."

"See, she don't go up to the wrong ones like that," Smith explained. "It's almost like she knows, Shannon, who to do what to and who not to do that to. Because certain people you do that to, they gonna clap back at you."