“I’m going to protect my players,” LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey told reporters Monday. “Always. They are more important. It’s like a family.”
That’s a standard line of coachspeak, and it’s a good principle, besides. Yet it’s hard to see how Mulkey has publicly done much to protect Angel Reese lately. The coach does not owe anyone specific information about why her star player has recently been absent from the team. But in not disclosing any details about the situation—not clarifying whether this is a personal matter or a suspension or something else—Mulkey and LSU have allowed speculation to run wild. That approach has only drawn more eyes to the situation. And it does not seem like it has protected Reese.
Stephen Lew/USA TODAY Sports
