"We threatened them so much and their masculinity": When Hailey Van Lith called out "mad old men" for their hate comments

Hailey Van Lith is one of rising stars in women's basketball and the limelight has come with a fair share of criticism. However, the TCU Horned Frogs star knows how to handle naysayers.

In a 2019 "Day in the Life" video for SLAM, Van Lith, who was a senior at Cashmere High School, shut down people who consistently belittle women's basketball.

"The number one thing that I hate reading is when these mad old men have to comment and diss on girls' basketball," she said. "It's just crazy that we threaten them so much and their masculinity or whatever makes them mad about it that they feel the need to try to tell us that we're never gonna make it and we're always gonna be less than boys.

"People are always in the comments saying that we need to go back to the kitchen (and) make them a sandwich. Like no, make your own sandwich and we'll go make the money."

Hailey Van Lith is from the same class as Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers and Angel Resse, who grabbed people's attention, ushering in a new era for women's basketball.

"My generation is a little more saucy; we're a little bit - we're evolving to like the boys," HVL said. "We want to score; we want the flashy plays. We're making them give us attention.

"It definitely is growing too and younger girls and we're gonna bring it even more and eventually, they're not going to be able to avoid us."

Hailey Van Lith wraps her final year in college

Hailey Van Lith played three seasons with the Louisville Cardinals and was their best player. She transferred to LSU for her senior season, hoping to win a national championship, but it turned out to be the worst year as she struggled with production and finding her feet within the Tigers.

“I took my experience in the previous years and I learned from [it],” Van Lith said about her senior year. “I think some people go through things and they forget about it. I never forgot. I remembered what I learned in those low moments of my life.”

The internet was brutal to Van Lith, especially after she struggled against Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the Elite Eight last year.

“The way that I’ve been able to deal with [social media] this year is that I just don’t deal with it,” Van Lith said. “The opinions don’t matter. Me winning or losing Player of the Year, at the end of the day, this doesn’t matter. Everyone’s always gonna have an opinion. It doesn’t make it right or factual. And so I know who I am in my heart. I know my game.”

After leading the TCU Horned Frogs to a Big 12 tournament championship, Hailey Van Lith is preparing for one last March Madness before the WNBA draft in April.