LA Times has now broken its silence on the controversial column that sparked criticisms from LSU Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey and their fans.
Mulkey slammed the piece for being “sexist” and unfair to her team, as the Tigers were vilified and portrayed in a negative light.
LSU Tigers’ Kim Mulkey Criticizes LA Times Column
After LSU’s showdown with the UCLA Bruins on Saturday, Mulkey was asked about people’s perception of her team. The Tigers head coach then used the opportunity to mention the LA Times article written by Ben Bolch that painted her team as “evil.”
Mulkey took offense with how the article was written. It was a preview of the LSU vs. UCLA game titled, “UCLA-LSU is America’s sweethearts vs. its basketball villains.” However, in the article, the Tigers were called “dirty debutantes.”
Here’s a part of the column that particularly irked Mulkey. It’s worth noting that the said LA Times article has since been edited.
“Do you prefer America’s sweethearts or its dirty debutantes? Milk and cookies or Louisiana hot sauce?” Bolch initially wrote. “The team that wants to grow women’s basketball or the one seemingly hellbent on dividing it? The coach who embraces reporters or the one who attacks them? The tender star player or the one who taunts?”
In response, Mulkey called out the publication and slammed it for attacking young kids who are doing nothing wrong but play the game they love.
“It was so sexist, and they don’t even know it. It was good versus evil in that game today. Evil? Called us dirty debutantes. Take your phone out right now and google what dirty debutantes mean and tell me what it says. Dirty debutantes? Are you kidding me? … How dare people attack kids like that,” Mulkey exclaimed.
LA Times Apologizes To Kim Mulkey, LSU Tigers
A couple of days since Kim Mulkey’s tirade, the LA Times has finally addressed the issue.
In an Editor’s note on the piece, the publication explained the changes after it removed the harsh words contained in it. LA Times also added an apology on Monday.
“The original version of this commentary did not meet Times editorial standards. It has been edited to remove language that was inappropriate and offensive. We apologize to the LSU basketball program and to our readers,” the editor’s note reads, via NOLA.com.
Furthermore, writer Ben Bolch took to social media to say sorry to Mulkey and the Tigers, admitting that he “failed miserably” in his article.
“Words matter. As a journalist, no one should know this more than me. Yet I have failed miserably in my choice of words. In my column previewing the LSU-UCLA women’s basketball game, I tried to be clever in my phrasing about one team’s attitude, using alliteration while not understanding the deeply offensive connotation or associations. I also used metaphors that were not appropriate. Our society has had to deal with so many layers of misogyny, racism and negativity that I can now see why the words I used were wrong. It was not my intent to be hurtful, but I now understand that I terribly missed the mark,” Bolch wrote.
“I sincerely apologize to the LSU and UCLA basketball teams and to our readers. UCLA, a school I have covered for nearly a decade, champions diversity and is known as a leader in inclusivity. However, I have not upheld that standard in what I wrote and I will do much better. I am deeply sorry.”
Mulkey and the Tigers have yet to comment on the apology from the LA Times. But as they prepare for their Elite Eight battle with the Iowa Hawkeyes, they are more likely focused on that rather than the off-court stuff.
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