Hailey Van Lith Alleges Racial Bias Exists Toward LSU Teammates

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Hailey Van Lith thinks there's one thing to blame for people not liking the LSU women's basketball team:

A racial double standard.

The Tigers play Iowa on Monday in the Elite 8, and they're at the center of the women's college basketball world following a lengthy Washington Post article of Kim Mulkey and a Los Angeles Times piece referring to LSU as "dirty debutantes." The latter was eventually removed from the article.

A debutante is a young woman that comes from high society that you'd often see in the Deep South back in the day, and in no way whatsoever is demeaning toward any race. Whether putting the word "dirty" in front of it was appropriate or not is up for debate, and the Los Angeles Times clearly felt it was. That's why it was removed.

Yet, the LSU guard implies people don't like the Tigers because they have double racial standards.

Hailey Van Lith believes  (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Hailey Van Lith blames racism for LSU not being well-liked.

"We do have a lot of black women on this team, and unfortunately, that bias does exist still today, and a lot of the people that are making those comments are being racist towards my teammates. I'm in a unique situation where I see with myself, I'll talk trash and I'll get a different reaction than if Angel [Reese] talks trash. I have a duty to my teammates to have their back. Some of the words that were used in that article were very sad and upsetting," Van Lith told the media Sunday in reaction to the article and criticism, according to ESPN.

She further added, "Calling us the dirty debutantes, that has nothing to do with sports. That's not motivating. But in my opinion, I know for a fact that people see us differently because we do 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. At the end of the day, I'm rocking with them because they don't let that change who they are. They stay true to themselves, and so I'll have their back."

Yes, racism is to blame for people not liking LSU - a program that seems to go out of its way to rub people the wrong way.

To be crystal clear, disliking the LSU team has nothing to do with race or being racist. It's comical anyone would claim that. Now, we do know there's at least one racist LSU fan because I was left a death threat from a supporter of the Tigers that was disgusting and incredibly racist.

Let's take a look at some of the issues the LSU women's basketball team has had to deal with. A quick list of the hits:

Do any of those have anything to do with race? Of course not. But Hailey Van Lith certainly seems to think if you don't cheer for LSU that you must be racist.

In what world does that even make sense? It doesn't, and again, a debutante isn't tied to a specific race. The Merriam-Webster dictionary definition is, "A young woman making her formal entrance into society."

Now, does that mean you should throw the word "dirty" before it while describing the LSU basketball team? Probably not, but again, not sure how it's racist.

Just focus on playing bask (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

Just focus on playing basketball and winning. Leave all the other nonsense at the door. Think I'm correct or incorrect? Let me know at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.

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David Hookstead is a reporter for OutKick covering a variety of topics with a focus on football and culture. He also hosts of the podcast American Joyride that is accessible on Outkick where he interviews American heroes and outlines their unique stories. Before joining OutKick, Hookstead worked for the Daily Caller for seven years covering similar topics. Hookstead is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin.