Hailey Van Lith is currently making her way in the WNBA as a rookie for the Chicago Sky, and since entering the league, she has had her head down just working. Despite that reality, Van Lith was recently on the receiving end of some misguided criticism. To make matters worse, the odd comments came from a former WNBA player that starred in the league.
Angel McCoughtry, the No. 1 pick in the 2009 Draft, recently brought Van Lith up on the "Let Her Shoot" podcast, in a discussion that was initially about Paige Bueckers and if her popularity could play a factor in the Rookie of the Year race.
Arguing that popularity is a factor for most awards, McCoughtry brought up Van Lith, unprompted, to say the Sky rookie is a decent player, but there are players out there who are better, in McCoughtry‘s eyes, that aren’t as popular.
The comments didn’t stop there, though, as all three people on the podcast decided to make it a talk-down-on-Hailey-Van-Lith segment. McCoughtry went on to ask, “If Hailey Van Lith had 10,000 followers, would she be in the league?”
Both hosts said no, and McCoughtry also agreed, with all three adding more uninformed and unnecessary comments. McCoughtry even went on to suggest women’s basketball players focus on marketing as well as their game.
Angel McCoughtry questions why Chicago Sky guard Hailey Van Lith is in the WNBA
In addition to being a No. 1 overall pick, McCoughtry is a five-time All-Star, six-time All-WNBA player, eight-time All-Defensive team player, Rookie of the Year, and two-time scoring champion.
With several other accolades to her name as well, her résumé is undeniable, so plenty of fans would like to value what she says. However, she missed the mark with this irresponsible take, and social media was quick to let her know about it.
That led to McCoughtry posting a since-deleted video on Instagram where she expressed that one thing she isn’t is a hater. However, she did admit it was a mistake to single out a specific player to make her point, and she apologized to Van Lith for that, expressing that the rookie has worked hard for everything that’s come her way.
Still, McCoughtry doubled down on her point that players need to promote themselves, because popularity could be the ultimate decision-maker between talented players.
McCoughtry wasn’t just wrong to single out a specific player; she was wrong to single out Van Lith specifically. Hailey Van Lith is undoubtedly one of the more popular players to enter the WNBA in recent years. With 1.3 million Instagram followers and a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover, her following is undeniable. However, so is her talent.
From winning Washington Ms. Basketball and being a McDonald’s All-American as a high schooler to being a two-time First-team All-ACC player to winning an Olympic medal to ending her collegiate career as the Big 12 Player of the Year and an All-American, Van Lith is exactly where her resume says she should be.