The LA Times made changes to Ben Bolch’s column that dubbed the LSU Tigers women’s basketball team “villains” and Bolch issued an apology on Monday.
But it was too late for the damage was done and Bolch’s ignorance was exposed.
“Do you prefer America’s sweethearts or its dirty debutantes? Milk and cookies or Louisiana hot sauce?” wrote Bolch in his original story.
“Do you prefer the team that wants to grow women’s basketball or the one seemingly hellbent on dividing it?”
The intent of the words was obvious and they hit their mark, but not in the way that Bolch intended for he was swiftly, and rightfully, ripped in the aftermath.
LSU star Angel Reese stated in a press conference that she’d take the hit for the “villain role,” and proudly declared “but I know we’re growing women’s basketball, and if this is the way we’re going to do it. This is the way we’re going to do it. You either like it or you don’t.”
I for one, love it.
Not the descriptions such as “dirty debutants” but the fierceness in the way that Reese and her teammates pushed back against the disrespectful and demeaning labels used by Bolch and initially authorized by the Times.
The team continued to dominate the sport, NIL and life this past season despite the attacks aimed at them and their coach, Kim Mulkey and they refused to back down or apologize for their approach to the game.
Trash talk is an integral part of sports, yet the amount of vitriol LSU players like Reese and Flau’jae Johnson have received is more than just trash talk. It’s a visible and visceral representation of sexism, racism, and misogynoir- the specific form of anti-Black misogyny experienced by Black women in digital and social spaces coined by Dr. Moya Bailey (Bailey, 2021).
There is something about women athletes generally, and Black sportswomen specifically unapologetically living their lives out loud, boasting, winning, and shining that seems to set people’s teeth on edge.
Yet, this isn’t new. We witnessed it in 2007 when then “shock jock” Don Imus and crew dubbed the Rutgers Women’s Basketball team “nappy-headed hoes” after the Scarlet Knights played Tennessee
LSU’s women’s basketball team, much like the Rutgers team in 2007, consists of a diverse group of players, and yet somehow the visibility of Black players contributed to an unwarranted backlash and outright misogynistic display by grown white men talking about collegiate women athletes.
Let me say that again- grown white men talking about collegiate athletes.
What is it about Black sportswomen at all levels that brings about disgusting reactions, particularly from white men? Grown white men disparaging Black sportswomen and painting them as “dirty debutants” says a lot more about them than it does the women they take aim at.
Nevertheless, they (white men) are given platforms time and time again to disparage and mock Black girls and women with minimal consequences.
Nevertheless, the players play and continue to win.
But what troubles me is that society still struggles trying to discern who the actual “villains” are. Angel Reese is not a villain, she’s a ballplayer (Monica Wright, Love & Basketball voice).
In this current moment where “woke,” “DEI,” and “CRT” are the latest dog whistles used by the right and alt-right to mock challenges to the white supremacist, capitalist, heterosexist patriarchy.
Black girls/women in sports deserve better. They deserve to play with the same amount of passion as their white counterparts without being dragged, vilified, or called “nappy-headed hoes.” However, American society has never been a safe space for girls or women who look like me, Angel Reese, or Flau’jae Johnson.
People will be mad, and as far as I’m concerned, they can stay mad and keep their wrinkles.
There is a long history of basketball players who engage in outside interests including within the realm of hip hop and rap, this is not new—though Black girls/women getting this level of attention for it might be.
At the end of the day, I’m here for it all. The game, the careers and the girls. I love to see them win especially in the face of so much unnecessary and unwarranted hate.
Sport, like society at large, is built on narratives such as “The American Dream” and other Horatio Alger-type narratives. However, not everyone gets to indulge in such narratives equally. With DEI now being labeled “Didn’t Earn It” in an attempt to disparage Black academics, Black Mayors and the like, it’s not hard to see the writing on the wall.
We are not, nor have we ever existed in a “post-racial” society.
In reality, we live in a society that is stratified by race, gender, sexuality, class, (dis)ability and beyond, and it is not the most marginalized among us who created this reality, yet we have been ostensibly charged with dismantling it.
After LSU lost to Iowa on Monday night, we watched an emotional Reese vent on what she’s experienced over the last two seasons at LSU.
“I’ve been attacked so many times. Death threats, I’ve been sexualized, I’ve been threatened. And I’ve stood strong,” exclaimed Reese.
Some teased her and others, like Emmanuel Acho, chose to call her out.
“In sports, you can’t act like the big bad wolf, then cry like courage the cowardly dog,” said Acho.
This the same Acho who defended USC star Caleb Williams after the QB broke down after a loss.
“I have no issue with Caleb Williams crying with his mom postgame,” said Acho on November 5th, 2023. “I prefer authentic emotional health over fake toughness. Men are allowed to cry.”
Apparently, Black sportswomen are not though.
I hope that in the future, people will think twice before heaping hate upon these young women who love the game and are growing it in ways we haven’t witnessed before. That’s evident based on the incredible ratings from the LSU vs Iowa matchup.
Viewership continues to rise and the players are balling on a whole new level.
From Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson to Caitlin Clark, the game is fierce and we are privileged to witness this year of transformation, and I can’t wait to see what they all do next
