LSU's women's basketball team has been at the center of controversy following a Los Angeles Times column that described the players as 'dirty debutantes,' a term that has sparked widespread criticism for being sexist and racist. LSU coach Kim Mulkey and guard Hailey Van Lith have publicly condemned the column, with Mulkey accusing the LA Times of vilifying her team in a preview piece of the LSU and UCLA matchup and calling the column 'sexist,' 'awful,' and 'wrong.' Van Lith, addressing the negative perceptions of her team, attributed the backlash to racism, specifically pointing out that the criticism often targets 'black women with attitude.' The LA Times has since updated the column, removing some of the contentious language, though Mulkey stated they did not reach out to her directly. UCLA coach Cori Close apologized for re-posting the article. The incident has sparked a broader conversation about racism and sexism in sports media coverage, with Mulkey fired up after reporters harassed her squad and Van Lith emphasizing that people look at LSU differently because they have a lot of 'black women with attitude.'
Kim Mulkey and Hailey Van Lith responded to a Los Angeles Times column that depicted the UCLA-LSU game as a basketball "reckoning" between "good versus evil. Right versus wrong. Inclusive versus divisive" The LA Times removed some language from the column including its "dirty… https://t.co/UZUWeSWGb9
Los Angeles Times Adjusts Column After Complaint By LSU Women's Coach https://t.co/OB4Cfbw4Hw
LSU's Hailey Van Lith defends teammates, calls LA Times column 'racist' after 'dirty debutantes' jab https://t.co/HlxR9mgu9t
KIm Mulkey's rant spurs major changes to LA Times women's hoops column https://t.co/V8NXwDctFw
'DIRTY DEBUTANTES': National champion coach Kim Mulkey blasted the column that described her players as "villains," decrying the piece as "sexist," "awful" and "wrong." https://t.co/K67xBmHJdE https://t.co/xelTehlxEV
LSU guard Hailey Van Lith defended her team Sunday following a Los Angeles Times column that described players as "dirty debutantes," calling those who perceive them negatively as "being racist toward my teammates." https://t.co/DlKRHYrFVL
Hailey Van Lith says people look at LSU differently because they have a lot of "black women with attitude." WATCH: https://t.co/l4e9MUqoZP https://t.co/hb2N1KXjpb
"A lot of the people that are making those comments are being racist towards my teammates" Hailey Van Lith blames racism for people not liking LSU. WATCH: https://t.co/l4e9MUqWPn https://t.co/r1GYbCzO1S
LSU coach Kim Mulkey fired up after reporters harassed her squad. "Dirty debutantes? Are you kidding me? I won't let you talk about 18-21 kids in that time. They said UCLA was milk and cookies? How dare people attack kids like that." https://t.co/w7id5DQnJK
Super busy last 24 hours ... Today, LSU G Hailey Van Lith called out the negative perceptions of her team as "being racist toward my teammates." Really powerful comments here. https://t.co/bf4DOxIfST
Kim Mulkey blasted the LA Times for a "sexist" article and they have since updated the piece, though Mulkey says they didn't reach out to her. UCLA coach Cori Close apologized for re-posting the article. READ: https://t.co/zdDrF5Gz2k https://t.co/v08FpHjW6E
Hailey van Lith talks about the 'racist' remarks originally written in the LA Times preview of the UCLA v. LSU matchup "Some of the words in that article were very sad and upsetting... calling us basically the 'dirty debutantes' that has nothing to do with sports" https://t.co/SxDgHbrspC
Some of y’all are not handling the rise of WBB well. Despite what you may think of their coach, referring to the LSU team as “dirty debutantes” is deeply offensive. @latbbolch https://t.co/5BfCcQKCfp
This is disgusting. You can dislike Kim Mulkey and still respect what Angel Reese, Aneesah Morrow, Flau’Jae, HVL and others are doing in the floor. “Dirty debutantes” is wild. https://t.co/4hrEnvMY0i
From the East coast to the West coast, LSU seems to be a target, Kim Mulkey is fine with trash talk, but she feels like the LA Times Ben Bolch crossed the line with vilifying her Tiger team in a preview piece of LSU and UCLA. https://t.co/3vJLSNQTVR
Kim Mulkey was asked about the perception people have about her LSU team. In her response, she brought up recent LA Times article she read about the matchup between UCLA and LSU. "I'm not going to let sexism continue. ... How dare people attack kids like that." https://t.co/72YwVnmwyv