When negative press is coming your way, sometimes it's best to just lay low rather than get ahead of it — just ask legendary singer Barbra Streisand.
In 2003, Streisand sued the California Coastal Records Project for holding photographs of her mansion in Malibu — only for the move to attract more attention for many wondering why she would do such a thing.
That was how the term "Streisand effect" was born.
The newest example to the Streisand effect is LSU head coach Kim Mulkey, who on Saturday, March 23, a day after her team's first win in the March Madness tournament, spoke at a press conference to shun a Washington Post "hit piece" on her.
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Mulkey explained that a reporter contacted LSU with over a dozen questions to address a story that he is looking to publish. The coach said that the deadline was "ridiculous" and that the reporter knew that they would not be able to adhere to the deadline.
"It was just an attempt to prevent me from commenting and an attempt to distract us from this tournament," Mulkey said.
The coach ended her nearly four-minute prepared speech by pointing out that many do not trust the media — and that she would pursue legal action against The Washington Post should they publish a "false story."
"This is exactly why people don't trust journalists and the media anymore," Mulkey said. "I will sue The Washington Post if they publish a false story about me."
"This is exactly why people don't trust journalists and the media anymore... I'm fed up... I will sue the Washington Post if they publish a false story about me." - LSU HC Kim Mulkey
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 23, 2024
(via @bryce_koon) pic.twitter.com/9Lce7PP4xY
Mulkey did not name the reporter — though the Associated Press confirmed that award-winning writer Kent Babb of The Washington Post is working on a profile of the four-time NCAA national championship winning coach.
The next day — prior to her team's Round of 32 game — Mulkey doubled down on her statements when asked about whether the looming report distracted the team for the game.
"We're not going to let one sleazy reporter distract us from what we're trying to do," Mulkey said on Sunday, March 24. "My kids didn't even know I said that yesterday. That team's not involved in this."
"We’re not going to let one sleazy reporter distract us from what we’re trying to do. Absolutely not. My kids didn't even know I said that yesterday. That team's not involved in this. They were in shock when they saw all that..." - LSU HC Kim Mulkeypic.twitter.com/LNmsj1uerL https://t.co/zH2s9XLBFb
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 24, 2024
While The Washington Post story has yet to come out, the reaction to Mulkey's comments on social media seem to suggest that many are now a lot more inclined to read the story due to Mulkey trying to get ahead of it.
"Everyone get familiar with the term the Streisand effect," sports commentator Mike Golic Jr. said on his show. "Before, if there might have been interest before this dropped, because of Kim Mulkey's response ... now everybody is going to be dialed in for this."
“Now everybody is going to be dialed in for this and people are going to be waiting for appointment reading in a way that I didn’t think was possible in 2024 because Kim wanted to draw this type of attention to it.” — @mikegolicjr on Kim Mulkey pic.twitter.com/RTV6CUvhwZ
— DraftKings Network (@DKNetwork) March 25, 2024
Shannon Sharpe reacted to the story on ESPN's "First Take" this morning, saying that while Mulkey has "every right" to ensure her name is not defamed by this story, she has brought so much more attention to herself.
"What she has done has piqued the curiosity of a lot of people that no longer read the paper," Sharpe said. "I would've let my law firm handle it — that's what I hired them for."
Mulkey has been known as a hard-nosed coach for a long time, and has had clashes with some high-profile players in the past. But it's unclear exactly what the angle of this story will be and when it's expected to drop.
The LSU Tigers, who are the defending NCAA Women's Basketball Champions, have already advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Women's March Madness Tournament. They play again on Saturday, March 30 against the winner of the Round of 32 game between Creighton and UCLA.
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