BATON ROUGE – Kim Mulkey says she has lawyered up and has threatened to sue the Washington Post if the national outlet "if they publish a false story about me."

The LSU women's basketball coach prepared a statement for her scheduled press conference with media members before her team practiced Saturday to get ready for its 2024 NCAA Tournament second round game against Middle Tennessee on Sunday. Her statement was nearly four minutes in length.

Before LSU tipped off against Rice in March Madness' opening round, rumors began to swirl online that the Washington Post was working on a story on Mulkey and that it could be released as early as next week, and that LSU and/or Mulkey were "circling the wagons."

Mulkey's statement Saturday addressed the rumored article, calling it a "hit piece" and saying she has hired representation for a possible legal battle about what the story may contain.

"I'm fed up, and I'm not going to let The Washington Post attack this university, this awesome team of young women I have, or me without a fight," she said. "I've hired the best defamation law firm in the country, and I will sue The Washington Post if they publish a false story about me.

"Not many people are in a position to hold these kinds of journalists accountable, but I am, and I'll do it."

The Washington Post declined comment to the USA Today Sports Network Saturday on the matter.

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Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Kim Mulkey threatens to sue Washington Post over rumored article on her