Kate Koval speaks out after LSU’s Kim Mulkey kicks Ukrainian to curb for Russian player

It’s impossible to fully comprehend what Kate Koval has gone through over four years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Teenagers in the United States got a small taste of high school disruption during the Covid-19 pandemic, forced to learn from home and lose almost two years of their high school experience — but at the end of the day, they got to leave their houses and return to a largely unchanged world.

The same can’t be said for Koval, who moved to the United States in 2021 in pursuit of a basketball dream, not knowing she would never return to Ukraine as she remembered it. Russia invaded Ukraine less than one year after Koval emigrated, and the emotional wounds to the Kyiv native still cut deep — which is why she decided to leave LSU and seek a new team.

LSU head coach Kim Mulkey simply said that Koval’s exit was due to personal reasons, when in reality it was Mulkey who directly caused this to happen. After weeks of speculation, Koval is opening up on exiting the program, which centers on Mulkey’s decision to recruit Russia’s Anna Minaeva, a 6’5 center who has been playing professional basketball in Moscow.

Minaeva didn’t invade Ukraine, and it’s unclear what her personal politics are on the matter — but it puts her in an extremely awkward situation as well, where she’s forced to address all this, none of which she asked for when she agreed to come to LSU. Mulkey had complete awareness that she was causing a painful situation in her locker room, and she didn’t care.

“The timing of this situation and the deeply personal effect it has had on me, my family and those we care about who continue to live through and fight this war ultimately made me question whether LSU remained the right place for me. This decision has not been easy. While I understand and respect that roster decisions are a part of college basketball, I have to remain true to myself, my values and my country.”

It hits particularly close to home for Koval, whose father has remained in Ukraine for the past four-and-a-half years fighting the Russian invasion. While her father was bravely defending their homeland, Mulkey was in the media praising Minaeva’s bravery to come play basketball.

“It takes tremendous courage to leave home at just 17 years old and travel across the world to pursue a dream. I’m excited to support and guide Anna as she begins this next chapter at LSU.”

True courage in this situation would be to put human decency ahead of wins. To have sat down with Koval and outlined that recruiting a Russian player was a possibility, and hearing how it would affect her — for Mulkey to learn about the players she’s supposed to be molding, rather than only looking at the bottom line. The bravest thing a basketball coach could have done would be to suspend the recruiting process, and put her current player’s experience over chasing the two in the bush.

“For me, this war is not distant or abstract,” Koval said. “People close to me have been killed and wounded in Russian attacks, and places where I grew up and first began playing basketball have been destroyed by missile strikes.”

Yes, it’s Mulkey’s job to do what it takes to make LSU women’s basketball the best it can be, but it doesn’t take much to be a decent human while doing it. There’s also a very good chance this was an atrocious basketball decision, as Mulkey ostensibly swaps a proven NCAA 8 and 6 forward for someone who averaged slightly better in Russia.

Koval is taking a mammoth risk to stand on her principles. With the NCAA transfer window closed she will need to ask for an exemption to find a new team. Here’s hoping that’s granted, she lands on a top squad, and can play for a team that actually appreciates her as a person, not just a cog in the machine.