"That was hard for me as a young girl": Iowa State star Audi Crooks makes honest admission about receiving hate in early playing career

Iowa State Cyclones' women's basketball player Audi Crooks has opened up about the hate she received during her freshman season because of her looks. Crooks is 6'3", and she says she has been dealing with comments on her looks since she was a child.

In her freshman season, Crooks had a dominant showing in the Cyclones’ first-round NCAA tournament win over Maryland. Crooks shot 18-of-20 for 40 points and 12 rebounds. It was the most points by a freshman in the NCAA tournament in women's basketball history.

However, after the performance, there were plenty of comments on social media making fun of Crooks for her looks, which she says was hard to deal with.

“That was hard for me as a young girl,” Crooks told On3. “I think the first time I got posted on ESPN, I was in seventh or eighth grade and I definitely wasn’t developed and I wasn’t really in shape. Seeing that when you’re 13 and there are grown men talking about you and your body instead of the game that I’m playing – that’s crazy. That was a lot for me to handle at such a young age.”

Crooks finished the year averaging 19.2 points and 7.8 rebounds as she was a key player for Iowa State. Although she has been body-shamed since she was a kid, Crooks said she is just nice to everyone and kills the haters with kindness.

“I was raised to kill them with kindness and that’s how I tried to raise Audi,” Crook said. “Just try to kill them with kindness, because then you don’t give them the ammunition to fire back.”

Crooks was a four-star recruit out of high school. Whatever negative comments she might be receiving won't detract from her on-court exploits.

Iowa State head coach defends Audi Crooks

During the season, Iowa State Cyclones head coach Bill Fennelly saw the hate online and said it was hard for him to deal with.

Fennelly wanted to respond to the haters as he says he views Crooks as family, but the latter would tell him everything is alright.

“It’s really hard,” Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly told On3. “My wife has pulled my phone out of my hands many times. It’s like your kids or your grandkids. There’s been a number of times we talked and [Audi] would put her arm around me and say, ‘Coach, I got it. You’re good. Don’t worry about it. Don’t go there. Don’t lower your level.’”

Despite all the hate, Crooks isn't letting all the negative comments impact her basketball play.