Story behind LSU women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey's 'kiss me i'm a queen' outfit
BATON ROUGE – Kim Mulkey always commands attention with her effervescent, boisterous, or sometimes shiny gameday outfits.
With LSU women’s basketball hosting the NCAA Tournament, a time of year that embraces anything, and the fact that Friday was St. Patrick’s Day, circumstances and venue created a perfect opportunity for Mulkey and her team to make a statement.
The Tigers coach donned an all-white blouse and pants combination with what appeared to be some rose gold high heels. Over the white button-down shirt, Mulkey sported a white sweater vest with “kiss me i’m a queen” vibrantly stitched across it in two shades of green and gold tinsel.
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A pair of big, green-sequined smooched lips on the back completed the ensemble.
It was a fitting gameday wardrobe for the statement No. 3 LSU (29-2) made in its shellacking of No. 14 Hawaii, 73-50. And the only statement as to the words on the vest were nothing more than a shoutout to her outfitter, Queen of Sparkles, a boutique owned by LSU alum Jamie Glas. Mulkey has been wearing her clothes since she took over the LSU women’s basketball program.
“It says, ‘kiss me i’m a queen.’ That’s the people who give me my clothes, Queen of Sparkles. It’s not talking about me being a queen. On the back it’s lips, right? Green.
“Tomorrow is the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Baton Rouge. If you’re here and you have nothing to do, they say that it is wonderful. Last year it was a conflict with us in the NCAA playoffs. That’s the story behind the shirt. It’s not me being a queen, it’s giving acknowledgment to Sparkles.”
Maybe it was Angel Reese that deserved the crown. The sophomore star forward, more affectionately known as “Bayou Barbie” became the first SEC player in this century to have a 30-plus point, 15-rebound performance in a March Madness game, setting up a Round of 32 matchup vs. No. 6-seeded Michigan (23-9) on Sunday (6:30 p.m., ESPN).
Or perhaps it was freshman Flau’jae Johnson who had the all-around queen-like outing with 10 points, six rebounds, five assists, three blocks and three steals. And doing it on that stage as a freshman.
Against Hawaii, the words on Mulkey’s sweater vest weren’t making the statement. It was her players who were doing the talking.
Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU/UL athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Kim Mulkey outfit: LSU coach on 'kiss me i'm a queen' sweater vest
