NEW ORLEANS — In the last 24 hours, the Los Angeles Times backtracked on a column entitled: UCLA-LSU is America’s sweethearts vs. its basketball villains written by Ben Bolch that took aim at the Lady Tigers. In the original column, Bolch used the word 'villains' to describe the LSU women's team.
“I’ll take the villain role. I’ll take the hit for it, 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," Angel Reese said in a press conference.
The article starts by saying, "This isn’t just a basketball game; it’s a reckoning. Picking sides goes well beyond school allegiance.
It previously stated, "Do you prefer America’s sweethearts or its dirty debutantes? Milk and cookies or Louisiana hot sauce? That line has since been removed.
The second line of the story now reads: Do you prefer the team that wants to grow women’s basketball or the one seemingly hellbent on dividing it?"
After LSU's win against UCLA, Kim Mulkey publicly expressed her disapproval of the story. She said she read the article and called it 'sexist' at a press conference after Saturday's game.
“I’m not sure what the rewrite was. I’m not sure if it was an apology. I’m not sure of any of that, but personally, no one has reached out to me. Nor do I require that. I don’t need all that. I just like to recognize when I feel something was done inappropriately to young people that I get to coach," Mulkey said.
Meanwhile, UCLA Coach Cori Close posted on social media apologizing for sharing the article on her account.
“I made a mistake," Close said in part.
Hailey Van Lith also spoke about it after the game.
"A lot of the people that are making those comments are being racist towards my teammates," Van Lith said. "And, you know, I'm in a unique situation where I see with myself, you know, I'll talk trash, and I'll get a different reaction than if Angel talks trash," Van Lith
Van Lith says calling them dirty debutantes has nothing to do with sports.
"Some of the words that were used in that article were very sad and upsetting, and, you know, I didn't really—I actually didn't want us to—read the article before the game because hearing stuff like that, it's not right. And it's not that type of description of us isn't always motivating," Van Lith said.
While the player's focus is on the next game Monday in Albany, closer to home, city leaders are speaking out about the column.
New Orleans City Council President Helena Moreno issued a statement on Sunday, calling the student-athletes 'sheroes.'
"This columnist needs to be called out," Moreno said.
The LA Times article comes on the heels of another high-profile piece on Coach Mulkey by the Washington Post.
“I hadn’t read that trash. I’m not going to read it. That’s why I hired lawyers," Mulkey said when asked about the Post's article at a press conference.
Mulkey went on to say that her attorneys would get involved with the WaPo article, which criticized Mulkey's interactions with former LGBTQ players and her estranged relationship with her family in Tangipahoa Parish.
LSU will play Monday night in the Elite Eight against Iowa with a spot in the Final Four at stake. Tipoff is set for 6:15 p.m.
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