Andrea Adelson, ESPN senior editorMarch 31, 2024, 4:13 p.m.
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ALBANY, N.Y. — LSU guard Hailey Van Lith defended her team Sunday following a Los Angeles Times article describing players as “dirty starters,” calling those who perceive them negatively “racist toward my teammates.” .
Van Lith said the team saw the comment before its Sweet 16 game against UCLA on Saturday. She wished they hadn't read it because “it can break your soul a little bit that someone could say that about us without knowing us.”
“We have a lot of black women on this team, and unfortunately those biases still exist today, and a lot of people who make those comments are racist toward my teammates,” said Van Lith, who is white. . I'm in a unique situation where I see with myself, I'll say stupid things and I'll have a different reaction than if Angel [Reese] Talk about trash. I have a duty to my teammates to support them. Some of the words used in this article were very sad and upsetting.
“Calling us dirty newbies has nothing to do with sports. It's not motivating. But in my opinion, 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 I like to talk trash and people want to. Ultimately, I'm with them because they don't let that change who they are. They stay true to themselves, and so I’ll have their back.”
During his postgame press conference following LSU's 78-69 victory over UCLA, Tigers coach Kim Mulkey also tore apart the column that described his team's game against the Bruins as a “count between good and evil, calling it “sexist,” “horrible” and “wrong.”
Van Lith, who grew up in Wenatchee, Wash., spent the first three years of his career at Louisville before transferring to LSU last season. She said she saw the way people criticized the Tigers last year during their national championship run, particularly the discussion around Reese after she pointed to her ring finger and made the hand gesture by John Cena “You Can't See Me”, waving his hand. his face towards Caitlin Clark.
Van Lith said she also saw a double standard dating back to her prep days.
“I lived it in Louisville. I lived it my whole life,” Van Lith said. “Most of the time I'm one of the only white people on the team so I see things from a different perspective. I think a lot of people who live in communities where everyone is like them, it's is where they tend to think, ‘Oh, racism doesn’t exist today.’ But I’ve seen it and experienced it, and I see it happening to my teammates and my friends.
“So when I go home, which is a predominantly white community, I share these experiences. When I was in high school, they tried to cancel the Martin Luther King Jr. assembly because we didn't have enough time for that. , but we had enough time for all the other holidays. We were a predominantly white high school, so no one had a problem with it. It's my responsibility to say things when it happens because that I’m in a unique position.”
Reese said the way the Times commentary described her team was “not the first time” and that she couldn't be concerned about how she and her team were perceived.
“It motivates us every time someone says something bad about us or crazy about us,” Reese said. “It motivates us. It makes us even hungrier, it makes us want to go out there and win even more. So, I love that about our team. Being a part of LSU has been just awesome, and I love that. People “I will believe and say what they want to say about you. You can't change people's perception of you, so I'll leave it as is. I mean, I don’t care.”
The Los Angeles Times removed some of the column's text, including the reference to “dirty debutantes,” later Saturday, saying in a statement that “it did not meet the Times' editorial standards.” The newspaper did not respond to ESPN's request for comment.
Hailey Van Lith says negative LSU comments fueled by racism
Hailey Van Lith says negative LSU comments fueled by racism،
Andrea Adelson, ESPN senior editorMarch 31, 2024, 4:13 p.m.
ALBANY, N.Y. — LSU guard Hailey Van Lith defended her team Sunday following a Los Angeles Times article describing players as “dirty starters,” calling those who perceive them negatively “racist toward my teammates.” .
Van Lith said the team saw the comment before its Sweet 16 game against UCLA on Saturday. She wished they hadn't read it because “it can break your soul a little bit that someone could say that about us without knowing us.”
“We have a lot of black women on this team, and unfortunately those biases still exist today, and a lot of people who make those comments are racist toward my teammates,” said Van Lith, who is white. . I'm in a unique situation where I see with myself, I'll say stupid things and I'll have a different reaction than if Angel [Reese] Talk about trash. I have a duty to my teammates to support them. Some of the words used in this article were very sad and upsetting.
“Calling us dirty newbies has nothing to do with sports. It's not motivating. But in my opinion, 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 I like to talk trash and people want to. Ultimately, I'm with them because they don't let that change who they are. They stay true to themselves, and so I’ll have their back.”
During his postgame press conference following LSU's 78-69 victory over UCLA, Tigers coach Kim Mulkey also tore apart the column that described his team's game against the Bruins as a “count between good and evil, calling it “sexist,” “horrible” and “wrong.”
Van Lith, who grew up in Wenatchee, Wash., spent the first three years of his career at Louisville before transferring to LSU last season. She said she saw the way people criticized the Tigers last year during their national championship run, particularly the discussion around Reese after she pointed to her ring finger and made the hand gesture by John Cena “You Can't See Me”, waving his hand. his face towards Caitlin Clark.
Van Lith said she also saw a double standard dating back to her prep days.
“I lived it in Louisville. I lived it my whole life,” Van Lith said. “Most of the time I'm one of the only white people on the team so I see things from a different perspective. I think a lot of people who live in communities where everyone is like them, it's is where they tend to think, ‘Oh, racism doesn’t exist today.’ But I’ve seen it and experienced it, and I see it happening to my teammates and my friends.
“So when I go home, which is a predominantly white community, I share these experiences. When I was in high school, they tried to cancel the Martin Luther King Jr. assembly because we didn't have enough time for that. , but we had enough time for all the other holidays. We were a predominantly white high school, so no one had a problem with it. It's my responsibility to say things when it happens because that I’m in a unique position.”
Reese said the way the Times commentary described her team was “not the first time” and that she couldn't be concerned about how she and her team were perceived.
“It motivates us every time someone says something bad about us or crazy about us,” Reese said. “It motivates us. It makes us even hungrier, it makes us want to go out there and win even more. So, I love that about our team. Being a part of LSU has been just awesome, and I love that. People “I will believe and say what they want to say about you. You can't change people's perception of you, so I'll leave it as is. I mean, I don’t care.”
The Los Angeles Times removed some of the column's text, including the reference to “dirty debutantes,” later Saturday, saying in a statement that “it did not meet the Times' editorial standards.” The newspaper did not respond to ESPN's request for comment.
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