Hailey Van Lith Condemns “Racist” Criticism Of Angel Reese And LSU Teammates
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College basketball star Hailey Van Lith is fully aware of the criticism that she and her LSU Lady Tigers teammates have received, and has clapped back in defense of her squad.
On Sunday (March 31), Van Lith addressed a seemingly “racist” slight against the Tigers, who were deemed as “evil” and “dirty debutantes” in a LA Times column published on Friday (March 29). The jab was taken to be largely aimed at LSU stars Angel Reese and Flaujae Johnson, both of whom have been adored by fans – yet, admonished by critics – for their demonstrative, competitive displays on and off the court.
“We do have a lot of black women on this team [and] unfortunately that bias does still exist today,” Van Lith said in the wake of the Tigers’ 78-69 victory over the favored UCLA Bruins on Saturday (March 30).
“A lot of the people making those comments are being racist towards my teammates,” the floor general added. “I’m in a unique situation, I’ll talk trash and I’ll get a different reaction than if Angel talks trash. … Some of the words that were used in that article were very sad and upsetting and I didn’t want us to read the article before the [Sweet 16] because hearing stuff like that is not right. … Calling us, the ‘dirty debutantes,’ that has nothing to do with sports.”
Van Lith, who began her career at Louisville before arriving at LSU through the transfer portal, revealed the impact the column had on her and her teammates, but voiced her solidarity with Reese, Flaujae and the rest of her Black teammates against the unwarranted backlash.
“I wish we hadn’t read that because I think that can crush your soul a little bit, that someone would ever say that about us that doesn’t know us. I know for a fact that people see us differently because we have a lot of black women on our team who have an attitude and like to talk trash and people feel a way about it, but at the end of the day, I’m rocking with them because they don’t let that change who they are.”
The LSU Tigers will face off against Caitlyn Clark and their rival Iowa Hawkeyes in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament on Monday (April 1). The game will mark their second matchup since the Tigers defeated Iowa to win the 2023 NCAA Tournament last year.
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