Not many would ever consider Kim Mulkey and her team being the underdogs during the March Madness. But that’s exactly the situation the LSU faced when they dealt with UCLA. This was the Tigers’ third consecutive Elite Eight run, and they surprisingly took the lead in the first quarter. The LSU surged into the lead by closing the first quarter on a 9-2 run to take a 13-9 lead. After the first quarter, Holly Rowe spoke to the coach, which the netizens did not like.

“Well, coach, your defense turned up. You have held UCLA to 2 points in about 7 minutes. What have you seen from your group defensively?” Kim Mulkey responded by crediting her team. “Toughness, just toughness. Betts is a handful. I’ve coached bigs, I know.” No problem so far for ESPN, but the next question did not sit down with the fans.

One netizen tweeted the entire exchange on X, plus their response to the 58-year-old broadcaster. “Holly Rowe, BET Awards expert turned sideline activist, tried to bait Kim Mulkey into a political narrative over her outfit. “Is that magnolia print a symbol of women’s toughness?” Mulkey nuked it: “I’m from Louisiana. It’s our state flower.” Pure humiliation. Sit down.” The Heat on the sportscaster seems to be because of her recent comments covering the USC games.

The sideline reporter stated that the crowd of JuJu Watkins’ fans at a USC game is similar to the BET Awards. “I was at a game here last year, and I thought I was at the BET Awards. It was like every star in that community was there.” The fans haven’t forgotten that, as they continued to show disapproval on social media after the Kim Mulkey interview.

Fans praise Kim Mulkey for being nonchalant

If the LSU coach was unflappable with her answer, an X user perfectly summarized the real reaction. The user was none other than Drunk Kim Mulkey, who simply wrote, “HOLLY ROWE SHUT UPPPPPPP.” The awkward and weird ending to the interview definitely caught fire on social media. The LSU HC had to explain the meaning of the state flower.

Seeing the interaction, one netizen chimed in, “No one like Holly Rowe I’m crying.” This is referring to the BET Awards comment and the backlash the ESPN reporter received. It was not just the fans; even fellow media personality Kelsey Nelson was disappointed with the statement. “On this Holly Rowe situation, in no context saying a game is like the BET awards would ever be okay to say. The message and messenger were both wrong. The undertones of what she said are beyond insensitive and it wasn’t funny at all. Juju is also more than just a cultural icon.”

Meanwhile, the social media continued to praise Kim Mulkey and her ‘sassy’ tone to answer the question. Another fan wrote about the incident. “Holly Rowe needs to stay in her lane cuz Kim Mulkey just ate Her up… #LSUvsUCLA.” Very easily, it could be the case of Rowe not knowing the state flower. But still the previous comments and current question towards LSU HC made fans turn against her.

In the end, Kim Mulkey’s response said a lot of things without saying much. That’s why a fan added, “Mic drop! What a legend.” Despite the praiseworthy skills, the night and run in the NCAA championship ended for LSU. The Bruins reached the Final Four stage for the first time in their history to cap off the top-seeded encounter.