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Won't Back Down: Teams, Dreams, and Family
Whether on a baseball field as the only girl on an all-boys team in Hammond, Louisiana, or on a basketball court where her play-making ability was compared to Louisiana legend Pistol Pete Maravich, Kim Mulkey was a young athlete so gifted she was named to Parade magazine’s 1980 All-America High School Girls Basketball team. Mulkey went on to win two national championships at Louisiana Tech, as well as a gold medal with the 1984 U.S. Women’s Olympic basketball team. She served as an assistant coach on Louisiana Tech’s 1988 national championship, then turned around Baylor University’s women’s basketball program by coaching them to a national championship in a mere five years.
In Won’t Back Down, Mulkey reveals the many trials she has overcome, and how her children and her coaching have sustained her in her most difficult moments.
In Won’t Back Down, Mulkey reveals the many trials she has overcome, and how her children and her coaching have sustained her in her most difficult moments.
- GenresSportsNonfictionMemoir
256 pages, Paperback
First published September 8, 2008
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84 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 26, 2022
she's so weird
October 15, 2019
This head-scratching memoir by Kim Mulkey (with Peter May), head coach of the Baylor women’s basketball program, is at once inspiring, maddening, and mystifying. A rags-to-riches tale about an extraordinary woman’s quest for excellence, the book is unfortunately marred by irksome spelling, grammatical, and mechanical errors, plus too many half-truths and obfuscations and at least one bald-faced lie.
Written for a young adult audience, this 256-page would-be memoir is more of a vo-tech manual explaining how to prepare to be a successful Baylor Lady Bear. Mulkey presents herself as the model of success, of course. She tells how she grew up in a loving family, endured the hardships of life in rural Louisiana, and played with the neighborhood boys to get tough. In one telling scene, she describes how her gender prevented her from playing with her team in a Little League championship, how her father sued on her behalf for equal access, and how the case was dropped and justice was never served. She relates how she picked herself up by the proverbial bootstraps, dusted herself off, and chose another sport—basketball—spending countless hours practicing alone in the backyard and playing pickup games with the boys at the local YMCA to hone her skills.
As an adolescent, Mulkey says she avoided most social interaction, choosing instead to focus on achieving academic and athletic excellence at Hammond High School, graduating as valedictorian and leading her basketball team to four straight state championships. She continued her winning ways at Louisiana Tech, where she worked incredibly hard on her game to lead LaTech to two national championships. She also earned a spot on Team USA in 1984 and led the team to Olympic gold. The descriptions of her maniacal work ethic seem intended to show potential Lady Bears with the “right stuff” just how hard they will have to work to make their dreams come true, too.
Mulkey relates how basketball has fulfilled her wildest dreams, yet we also see the terrible cost of her single-minded obsession with the game she loves. For the basketball buff, there’s plenty of interesting information about what it takes to manage one of the most successful programs in the women’s game, along with some X’s and O’s, game highlights, comments on star players, and the story of how the Lady Bears won their first national championship in 2005.
We also observe how Mulkey elbows her way through life, boxing out adversity, anyone who gets in her way, and critics of her win-at-all-costs mentality. Her health suffers, as do her relationships. Unforgiving, she chalks off her father and ex-husband as collateral damage. She ingratiates herself with school administrators and athletic directors, defending the system of oppression that thwarts her and making excuses for the men who run it. After 19 years as an assistant at LaTech, for instance, Mulkey is appointed to the head coach position vacated by her mentor and champion, Leon Barmore, only to have it wrested from her by the university president as she grovels at his feet, begging for the opportunity she deserves. In her version of events, Mulkey refuses to call him out as a sexist oppressor, showing us instead how she learned to be a better “team player” and step up her game at being a man’s woman to compete more effectively in a man’s world.
Mulkey also talks a good game about running a clean program at Baylor and achieving success the “right” way. For a coach who claims to value academics, however, Mulkey cannot claim a 100-percent graduation rate. The most egregious example is superstar Brittany Griner, who completed her eligibility at Baylor without getting a degree. Mulkey also claims strict adherence to NCAA rules, but the Baylor women’s basketball program has been routinely fined or sanctioned for infractions, such as when Mulkey’s staff jammed Griner’s phone to prevent competing schools from recruiting her.
Mulkey says she “won’t back down,” but she has backed down far too often when she should have stood up to sexism, homophobia, and violence against women, as Griner attests in her memoir, In My Skin. Mulkey’s tone-deaf comments on the sexual assault scandal that rocked Baylor in 2016 are just one example of how she has justified and excused the patriarchal underpinnings of rape culture during her career. The girl from Tickfaw, Louisiana, who had every reason to speak out against social injustice and gender inequality, has grown into the woman seen here, identifying with her oppressors and using the power of her bully pulpit to side with the bullies.
It’s mystifying to read about a strong woman who has faced so much sexism, inequality, and discrimination in her life yet continues to defend the system of oppression and excuse the men who run it. Mulkey seems happy to be living in a man’s world as a man’s woman who gets along just fine playing by the big boys’ rules, which are designed to keep women in their place and squelch any dreams that would compete with the male fantasy of female subservience. Of all people, Mulkey should be the one who stands her ground in a world that keeps pushing women around—the one who won’t back down.
Written for a young adult audience, this 256-page would-be memoir is more of a vo-tech manual explaining how to prepare to be a successful Baylor Lady Bear. Mulkey presents herself as the model of success, of course. She tells how she grew up in a loving family, endured the hardships of life in rural Louisiana, and played with the neighborhood boys to get tough. In one telling scene, she describes how her gender prevented her from playing with her team in a Little League championship, how her father sued on her behalf for equal access, and how the case was dropped and justice was never served. She relates how she picked herself up by the proverbial bootstraps, dusted herself off, and chose another sport—basketball—spending countless hours practicing alone in the backyard and playing pickup games with the boys at the local YMCA to hone her skills.
As an adolescent, Mulkey says she avoided most social interaction, choosing instead to focus on achieving academic and athletic excellence at Hammond High School, graduating as valedictorian and leading her basketball team to four straight state championships. She continued her winning ways at Louisiana Tech, where she worked incredibly hard on her game to lead LaTech to two national championships. She also earned a spot on Team USA in 1984 and led the team to Olympic gold. The descriptions of her maniacal work ethic seem intended to show potential Lady Bears with the “right stuff” just how hard they will have to work to make their dreams come true, too.
Mulkey relates how basketball has fulfilled her wildest dreams, yet we also see the terrible cost of her single-minded obsession with the game she loves. For the basketball buff, there’s plenty of interesting information about what it takes to manage one of the most successful programs in the women’s game, along with some X’s and O’s, game highlights, comments on star players, and the story of how the Lady Bears won their first national championship in 2005.
We also observe how Mulkey elbows her way through life, boxing out adversity, anyone who gets in her way, and critics of her win-at-all-costs mentality. Her health suffers, as do her relationships. Unforgiving, she chalks off her father and ex-husband as collateral damage. She ingratiates herself with school administrators and athletic directors, defending the system of oppression that thwarts her and making excuses for the men who run it. After 19 years as an assistant at LaTech, for instance, Mulkey is appointed to the head coach position vacated by her mentor and champion, Leon Barmore, only to have it wrested from her by the university president as she grovels at his feet, begging for the opportunity she deserves. In her version of events, Mulkey refuses to call him out as a sexist oppressor, showing us instead how she learned to be a better “team player” and step up her game at being a man’s woman to compete more effectively in a man’s world.
Mulkey also talks a good game about running a clean program at Baylor and achieving success the “right” way. For a coach who claims to value academics, however, Mulkey cannot claim a 100-percent graduation rate. The most egregious example is superstar Brittany Griner, who completed her eligibility at Baylor without getting a degree. Mulkey also claims strict adherence to NCAA rules, but the Baylor women’s basketball program has been routinely fined or sanctioned for infractions, such as when Mulkey’s staff jammed Griner’s phone to prevent competing schools from recruiting her.
Mulkey says she “won’t back down,” but she has backed down far too often when she should have stood up to sexism, homophobia, and violence against women, as Griner attests in her memoir, In My Skin. Mulkey’s tone-deaf comments on the sexual assault scandal that rocked Baylor in 2016 are just one example of how she has justified and excused the patriarchal underpinnings of rape culture during her career. The girl from Tickfaw, Louisiana, who had every reason to speak out against social injustice and gender inequality, has grown into the woman seen here, identifying with her oppressors and using the power of her bully pulpit to side with the bullies.
It’s mystifying to read about a strong woman who has faced so much sexism, inequality, and discrimination in her life yet continues to defend the system of oppression and excuse the men who run it. Mulkey seems happy to be living in a man’s world as a man’s woman who gets along just fine playing by the big boys’ rules, which are designed to keep women in their place and squelch any dreams that would compete with the male fantasy of female subservience. Of all people, Mulkey should be the one who stands her ground in a world that keeps pushing women around—the one who won’t back down.
January 21, 2012
It is often true that when reading a memoir the memoirist's voice is reduced to a whisper by the co-author. This is decidedly not the case with Kim Mulkey's "Won't Back Down". Kim's fiery voice and personality shine through on every page and there is no doubt who is putting fingers to keyboard. She begins the journey in Hammond, Louisiana sharing her high school career with us and moves along to Ruston to share her time as a Lady Techster. After her years on the court at Louisiana Tech as a player we are taken on a trip down memory lane to share in the fifteen years Kim spent there as an assistant coach. The journey continues as Kim leaves Tech to become the head coach at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. In five short years she turns a struggling Big 12 team into National Champions and we are along for the ride as the Lady Bears storm into Indianapolis and secure the National Championship; squashing the hopes of powerhouse teams like Tennessee, Stanford and Connecticut.
Make no mistake, Kim not only speaks about basketball in this volume. She candidly shares her struggles regarding her troubled relationship with her father, her decision to leave Louisiana Tech, her marriage and raising her children as a single Mom.
While this is not the most polished memoir, in an editorial sense, it is certainly honest and written by Kim Mulkey. If you ever had a doubt about who Kim Mulkey is, "Won't Back Down" will erase those doubts for you. It should be required reading for all true fans of women's basketball, even if the Baylor Lady Bears are not your favorite team. Kim has been involved in women's college basketball for over thirty years now. And I'd bet that she will be for another thirty years. And that makes all women's basketball fans very lucky indeed.
Make no mistake, Kim not only speaks about basketball in this volume. She candidly shares her struggles regarding her troubled relationship with her father, her decision to leave Louisiana Tech, her marriage and raising her children as a single Mom.
While this is not the most polished memoir, in an editorial sense, it is certainly honest and written by Kim Mulkey. If you ever had a doubt about who Kim Mulkey is, "Won't Back Down" will erase those doubts for you. It should be required reading for all true fans of women's basketball, even if the Baylor Lady Bears are not your favorite team. Kim has been involved in women's college basketball for over thirty years now. And I'd bet that she will be for another thirty years. And that makes all women's basketball fans very lucky indeed.
February 3, 2011
Mulkey's a basketball coach, not a writer. This isn't a literary masterpiece, but it is a thoughtful and very personal glimpse into this amazing lady's life, her basketball career as player and coach, her interests, her family, and how she coaches. I appreciated her honesty and willingness to open up about private family matters that she didn't have to divulge. It leads to a better understanding of her as a person and why she demands such commitment and loyalty from her players. She's forthright - almost to a fault - at one point claiming she's "boring." If you've seen this woman coach a close game, you know that she is anything but boring!
Lady Bears' fans that have watched Mulkey on the court should enjoy this book, and I'd consider it required reading for anyone thinking about playing for her. (Beware ladies, she expects you to iron your jeans!)
Lady Bears' fans that have watched Mulkey on the court should enjoy this book, and I'd consider it required reading for anyone thinking about playing for her. (Beware ladies, she expects you to iron your jeans!)
January 19, 2009
the author is the coach of the baylor university women's basketball team...she is one competitive lady...a great coach and mentor
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews