Alton Strupp/Courier Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Former WNBA All-Star Reacts to Backlash After Hailey Van Lith Comments

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Kevin Borba | Last updated Jun 22, 2025 1:40 PM ET

In what has become a common trend across the WNBA, veteran or retired players have seemingly not been fans of the popularity of the incoming players.

Indiana Fever guard Catilin Clark caught the brunt of many criticisms last season, and over the past few days, Chicago Sky guard Hailey Van Lith found herself catching a random stray.

The shot that the No. 11 overall pick in this year's WNBA draft caught came via five-time WNBA All-Star, two-time WNBA scoring champion and six-time All-WNBA selection, Angel McCoughtry. When appearing on "Let Her Shoot" podcast, the former No. 1 pick insinuated that Van Lith, who has 1.3 million Instagram followers, made it into the league based on popularity, not merit.

As one could imagine, her take was not well received and took plenty of heat online. On Sunday, a video of McCoughtry surfaced, as she issued an apology to Van Lith.

"So y'all know one thing I ain't is a hater," McCoughtry said. "I ain't never hated on nobody, and those words they never come out my mouth. Now, my mistake I made was giving a point with the wrong delivery. I shouldn't have used a certain player (Hailey Van Lith) to make an example of a point I was trying to make. And I want to apologize for that, cause I was wrong.

"I can take accountability when I'm wrong y'all," McCoughtry added. "So I'm gonna apologize to Hailey for that. Because you worked hard for everything you got and you deserve it all, plus more."

While it's unclear what McCoughtry's initial point was regarding Van Lith, the harsh take amassed over six million views on X.

"If Hailey Van Lith had 10,000 followers, would she be in the league? Let me ask you that," McCoughtry said. "Honestly. We're just talking about her true talent. Take away her followers. Would she be in the league if she only had 10,000 followers?"

On the year, Van Lith is averaging 5.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 15.4 minutes of action per game. Assuming Van Lith was already more than motivated to perform, McCoughtry's take may end up fueling her even more.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: