“You Want the Women’s Game to be Marred By a Fight”: Shannon Sharpe Lashes at LSU Coach Over Angel Reese Comment

During the NCAA basketball women’s SEC championship between South Carolina and LSU, tempers flared between the two teams after SC’s 6’7” Center Kamilla Cardoso knocked down LSU’s 5’10” guard Flau’jae Johnson to the ground. Because of this scuffle, six players were ejected and the game was stopped for 20 minutes. In the aftermath, SC’s coach Dawn Staley apologized while LSU’s coach Kim Mulkey revealed that instead of Johnson, Cardoso should have tried her luck on pushing LSU Center 6’3” Angel Reese who is much taller than Johnson.

As per Bleacher Report’s Zach Bachar, Kim Mulkey told reporters, “I wish she would have pushed Angel Reese. You 6’8″, don’t push somebody that little. That was uncalled for, in my opinion.”

Shannon Sharpe called out Kim Mulkey for her comments and didn’t appreciate the LSU head coach for endorsing a scuffle. On ESPN’s First Take, he made it clear that Mulkey’s comments stifle the growth of women’s basketball which is witnessing huge traction in the wake of Caitlin Clark’s historic NCAA career.

“For you to say “I wish Cardoso would have pushed Angel Reese.” If that’s what you want, you want to see a fight. If you want women’s game to be marred with fight. Really! Come on, Kim Mulkey, you got to be better!” Sharpe called out Mulkey.

The 55-year-old ESPN analyst also added that he has the utmost respect for the way Dawn Staley reacted in the aftermath of the late-game chaos. For Sharpe, since women’s game is growing, Mulkey’s comments promote an environment that can repel many fans. While the ESPN analyst had a scathing criticism of Mulkey, the fight between LSU and South Carolina extended beyond the players.

The SEC championship had a controversial finish

With 2:10 to play in the fourth quarter, South Carolina was leading 79-72 but the possession arrow was with the LSU. However, in a crucial play, SC’s Milaysia Fulwiley stole the ball from Johnson which triggered an open-court foul from the LSU guard.

Ashlyn Watkins and Flau’jae Johnson engaged in some heated contact which resulted in the involvement of the rest of the players. Amidst the chaos, Karmilla Cardoso knocked down Johnson which escalated things further. 

To make things more complicated, a fan ran towards the scorer’s table and wanted to join the scuffle which concerned ESPN’s commentators who were sitting right there. As per The Athletic’s Ben Pickman, ESPN identified that Flaujae’s brother Trayron Milton was the fan who ran onto the court after seeing her sister getting knocked down by Cardoso. Eventually, the two coaches separated the players who were engaged in the scuffle while the security took care of Milton.

Six players were ejected from the game and Karmilla Cardoso is seeing a possible suspension for South Carolina’s NCAA Tournament opener. Later, it was also revealed that Trayron Milton is now facing assault and battery charges at a Greenville County jail. Being a physical sport, such incidents are common in basketball. However, in line with Sharpe’s statements, nobody likes to see athletes throwing punches or cuss words at each other.