ESPN's Stephen A Smith calls out LSU's Kim Mulkey after coach's exchange with reporter

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ESPN star Stephen A. Smith called on LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey on Monday after her interaction with a student reporter following an Elite Eight loss to UCLA.

The reporter started his question by noting that it was the second straight year LSU had been eliminated in the Elite Eight, and Mulkey butted in, asking whether that was good or "terrible." The reporter responded, "terrible." Mulkey followed up by asking, "How many Final Fours you play in?"

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LSU Lady Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey looks on against the UCLA Bruins during the second half of an Elite Eight NCAA Tournament basketball game at Spokane Arena in Spokane, Washington, on March 30, 2025. (James Snook-Imagn Images)

Mulkey’s exchange went viral, and it led to Smith’s reaction on "First Take."

"I’m not going to take away from the fact that Kim Mulkey is a great coach and an established coach," Smith said. "We just need to finally say this about her – she’s very rude. She’s very, very rude.  She's rude, she's condescending and unnecessarily so to too many people.

"And it’s always with the right one. She don’t go up to the wrong one. It’s almost like she knows, Shannon (Sharpe), who to do that to and who not to do that to. There’s certain people you do that to, they’re gonna clap back. But she is a phenomenal coach, one of the best ever, but she’s just a very, very rude person."

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Stephen A. Smith on the ESPN NBA Countdown live set at Intuit Dome. (Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)

Mulkey has some history with reporters in general. 

Before the tournament began, Mulkey called