Pro Football Hall of Famer and former prominent tight end turned analyst Shannon Sharpe recently shared his opinions on what the prominent head coach of the LSU Tigers, Kim Mulkey, shared regarding the brawl that took place during the match against South Carolina Gamecocks.
LSU and South Carolina players got into a scuffle in the fourth quarter of the SEC Championship. pic.twitter.com/rXw1tb1jWM
— ESPN (@espn) March 10, 2024
The SEC Tournament was won by South Carolina, as they defeated the Tigers with a final score of 79-72. The head coach of South Carolina, Dawn Staley, shared her thoughts regarding the on-court scuffle during a post-game interview with ESPN.
Staley had mentioned in her statement, “I just want to apologize to the basketball community. When you’re playing in championship games like this, in our league, things get heated. No bad intentions. Their emotions got so far ahead of them that sometimes these things happen. So I want to apologize for us playing a part in that. That’s not who we are and that’s not what we’re about.”
However, the remarks Mulkey made regarding the scuffle had brought her critical attention, she had mentioned, “It’s ugly. It’s not good. No one wants to be a part of that. No one wants to see that ugliness. But I can tell you this: I wish she would’ve pushed Angel Reese. Don’t push a kid — you’re 6’8. Don’t push somebody that little. That’s uncalled for, in my opinion. Let those two girls who were jawing, let them go at it.”
During one of the episodes of “First Take” Stephen A. Smith and Sharpe talked about the brawl and the former NFL icon also expressed the contrast between the perceptions of the two head coaches in reference to the on-court scuffle.
Shannon Sharpe takes issue with Kim Mulkey's response to the South Carolina-LSU fight: "We've got to start doing a better job of holding Kim Mulkey accountable and responsible for some of her comments. We let that stuff fly because she's a national champion. I refuse to do that.… pic.twitter.com/yFtucmVj1l
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 11, 2024
More Shannon Sharpe on Kim Mulkey: "If a man had said that, we would hold him accountable. Kim Mulkey has gone a long time and escaped criticism for a lot of things that she's said… she says and does a lot of things that rub me the wrong way. And I'm not going to apologize for… pic.twitter.com/diZdEb92Vu
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 11, 2024
Sharpe mentioned, “You mean it figuratively, not literally. ‘Oh, we’re gonna fight. We’re gonna fight them tooth and nail. We’re gonna scratch and claw. We’re gonna do everything we can. You give nothing, you allow them to take nothing. But Kim Mulkey, instead of saying, ‘You know what, sometimes when emotion is high, logic is low. And that’s was not what women’s college basketball is about.’ Especially with the love and support that the women game received this year. Thanks to Caitlin Clark, thanks to USC and Juju Watkins and some of the others. But for you to take that stance: ‘I wish Cardoso would’ve pushed Angel Reese.’ … Really?”
He further stated, “Is that what you want? You want to see a fight? You want the women’s game to be marred by a fight? Really? Come on, Kim Mulkey. You’ve got to be better. And we’ve got to start doing a better job of holding Kim Mulkey accountable and responsible for some of her comments. We let that stuff fly because she’s a national champion. I refuse to do that. I believe she was wrong in this instance. And Dawn Staley showed the utmost class and respect, not only for the game itself but for her team and the opposing team. I wish Kim Mulkey would have shown that level of respect.”
However, the four-time national champion head coach, through her remarks, also mentioned that these acts should be stopped as they are “ugly” and “not good” given the level these prominent games have achieved.
