Kim Mulkey fiercely backs Flau'jae Johnson amid South Carolina DJ controversy

South Carolina suspended its in-house DJ for women’s basketball after she played a song by the late father of LSU star Flau’jae Johnson during a game between the two powerhouse programs on Friday, seemingly as a troll.

LSU coach Kim Mulkey came to Johnson’s defense on Sunday.

“All I care about is Flau’jae,” Mulkey said, according to a report from The Advocate’s Reed Darcey. “All I care about is her family. What South Carolina does is South Carolina’s doings. I love that kid.

“I cannot imagine her thoughts when it went down. But she’s just so joyful. She is so wonderful for LSU and our game. And yeah, I love that child, and I love her parents. That’s my comment on it.”

The incident in question occurred during a game between LSU and South Carolina in Columbia, S.C. on Friday night.

The DJ at the game, who goes by DJ T.O., issued an apology after playing a song by Camoflauge, the stage name of Johnson’s late father. The song choice was deemed insensitive, to say the least.

Flau’jae Johnson was not yet born when her father, whose real name is Jason Johnson, was shot and killed in 2003. She has carried on his legacy by also being a musician, in addition to playing basketball, and is signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation.

Some on social media were not quick to buy DJ T.O.’s apology, pointing out that the DJ had previously joked about playing the song on her Instagram account. When one user posted a story and said “Playing Camoflauge at the end of the game was crazy,” the DJ responded with “My bad” alongside a laughing emoji.

“I’ll take my L on the chin, but this just nasty behavior,” Flau’jae Johnson wrote alongside a screenshot of that story. “Nun funny bout that.”

As a result of the poor song choice, South Carolina opted to suspend the DJ for the next women’s basketball home game.

“We are addressing Friday night’s inappropriate in-game song selection and subsequent Instagram post by the DJ who is hired to work our women’s basketball games. Her actions were understandably upsetting to Flau’Jae Johnson and her family and disrespectful to the LSU program and fans,” South Carolina’s statement read. “Conference rivalries and passionate fan bases should only serve to enhance sports, not be used to target individual players personally. We regret that it came to that in our venue after a game that saw both teams capture the level of national attention that women’s basketball has earned, and we apologize to Flau’Jae, her family and LSU.

“As a result of her actions, DJ T.O. will be suspended for the next women’s basketball home game, and we will meet with her to provide further education on our expectations of her in the future.”