LSU guard Haley Van Lith on Sunday called the Tigers women’s basketball team “racist” and called the team “racist” after a Los Angeles Times column described the Tigers women’s basketball team as “dirty debutantes.” defended.
Flojay Johnson led the way with 24 points and the Tigers won 78-69 before the Tigers faced UCLA in a Sweet 16 matchup on Saturday. This column was published in the LA Times.
Van Lith, who is white, said she regrets reading the column because it “could have crushed my soul a little bit.” But ahead of the Tigers’ Elite Eight game against Iowa on Monday night, she had the support of her teammates.
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LSU’s Haley Van Lith is shown during a game against Tennessee at Food City Center on February 25, 2024 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Brian Lin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“There are a lot of black women on this team, and unfortunately that bias still exists, and many of the people making comments like that are against their teammates,” Van Lith said, according to ESPN. It’s racist.” “I’m in a unique situation where I have to face myself and talk shit and react differently than I would with Angel. [Reese] Talk trash. I have a duty to support my teammates. Some of the words used in that article were very sad and upsetting. ”
“Calling us ‘dirty debutantes’ has nothing to do with sports. It’s not motivating.”
According to ESPN, the LA Times removed the phrase “Dirty Debutante” from the column late Saturday, saying in a statement that it “does not meet the Times’ editorial standards.”
LSU’s Kim Mulkey infuriates LA Times with column describing players as ‘dirty rookies’
“I know for a fact that people look at us differently, in my opinion, because we have a lot of black women on our team who have good attitudes and like to talk trash. And people feel a certain way about it,” Van Lith continued. “At the end of the day, I’m dancing with them because they don’t allow themselves to change. They stay true to themselves, so I root for them.”
Van Lith played his first three seasons of college basketball at the University of Louisville and added that he saw the same criticism, or double standards, in high school.
Haley Van Lith of LSU during the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament championship game against South Carolina at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 10, 2024 in Greenville, South Carolina. 11). (John Byram/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“A lot of times I’m one of the only white people on the team, so I see things from a different perspective,” she said. “I think a lot of people who live in communities where everyone is similar to themselves tend to think, ‘Oh, racism doesn’t exist today.’ But I’ve seen it , I’ve been through it, and I’m seeing it happen to my teammates, and I’m seeing it happen to my friends.”
Van Lith recently publicly commented on the column after head coach Kim Mulkey criticized it as “sexist” and “wrong.”
“You can criticize the coach all you want,” she said, according to ESPN. “That’s our job. You can turn to us and say, ‘You’re the worst coach in America. I hate you, I hate everything about you.'” We expect that. I am. It comes with the territory. ”
“But the one thing I’m not going to let you guys do is I’m not going to let you attack young people. And there were some things in this comment that I, as a woman, should be offended by. It was very sexist. Today’s match was good versus evil. Evil? Did you call us dirty debutantes? Are you kidding me?
“As a mother, as a grandmother, as a youth leader, I can’t sit here and allow someone to say something like that, because folks, it’s wrong. I don’t see or read sexism. If you do, you’ll know. That was terrible.”
LSU guard Haley Van Lith during the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament championship game against South Carolina at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 10, 2024 in Greenville, South Carolina. . (John Byram/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Lady Tigers star Angel Reese also defended her head coach, saying she and her teammates are all “good villains” who want to help women’s basketball grow.
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“That’s what we’re concerned about,” Reese said. “Just having teammates that are rooting for you, having teammates and coaches, that means we can always support each other. I don’t care what outsiders think. Locker room I know what’s going on.”
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