“There’s A Privilege For Younger White Players”: Cameron Brink Makes USA 3×3 Team With Hailey Van Lith and Wants Acceptance For Her “Masculine” Teammates

Cameron Brink is another of the heralded and captivating WNBA rookies that have helped to elevate the league to new heights and levels of visibility in 2024.

The credit for that success has been heaped upon Caitlin Clark, who has been promoted disproportionately, especially as compared to the Black stars of the WNBA such as A’ja Wilson.

Clark even got a $28M sneaker deal from Nike before Wilson debuted her shoe, which was only after Black Twitter went crazy pressing for Wilson, a two-time MVP and the best player in the women’s game, to be rewarded for her efforts.

Cameron Brink Acknowledges White Privilege

Brink is performing well too, and as a standout white player in a predominantly Black league, she is well aware of the privilege she enjoys.

The Los Angeles Sparks forward expressed in a new interview with Uproxx, that she’s looking to extend that impact beyond the numbers, hoping to play a part in breaking the “younger white” privilege in the league.

“I could go way deeper into this, but I would just say growing the fan base to support all types of players,” Brink said. “I will acknowledge there’s a privilege for the younger white players of the league. That’s not always true, but there is a privilege that we have inherently, and the privilege of appearing feminine. Some of my teammates are more masculine. Some of my teammates go by they/them pronouns. I want to bring more acceptance to that and not just have people support us because of the way that we look.”

“I know I can feed into that because I like to dress femininely, but that’s just me. I want everyone to be accepted — not just paid attention to because of how they look.”

The second overall pick in this year’s draft out of Stanford, Brink addressed the tired narratives and social media drama that has been challenging for players but great for the league this season.

Related: WNBA Soap Opera Takes Over The Sports Conversation For Better Or Worse: League Has To Embrace and Manage the Madness (theshadowleague.com)

She dismissed any truth to the constant accusations that the veteran players are jealous of Cailtin Clark, Brink and other popular rookies with huge social media followings.

“The most tired narrative is that the vets are against the rookies — this old-school versus new-school narrative — and the narrative that the rookies need to be perfect, ” Brink said. “I feel like [Indiana Fever rookie] Caitlin Clark has that the worst right now, but even I get that. She had three points the other night [against New York on June 2]. I had three points the other night [against Indiana on May 28]. We’re expected to be perfect. We were drafted to high-drafting teams coming off of losing seasons, which is fine.

“It’s a learning process. But people expect us to be perfect, and it’s freaking exhausting. I feel like we learn how to tune it out, but still, it’s unrealistic, and it kind of just shows that people don’t know basketball.”

Brink has been one of the top 5 rookies to enter the WNBA this season.

The forward has started in all eight games, averaging 8.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks on 47.2 percent shooting.

The Sparks entered Wednesday’s game against the Lynx in last place in the Western Conference with a 2-6 record.

Cameron Brink and Hailey Van Lithe Go To Paris: US Olympic 3 x 3 Women’s Hoops Team

Her team is struggling, but on the bright side Cameron Brink, Cierra Burdick, Rhyne Howard, and Hailey Van Lith will make up the 2024 U.S women’s Olympic 3×3 basketball team that will go for a second straight gold medal, USA Basketball announced on Wednesday.

Three of the four team members — Brink, Burdick and Van Lith — represented the U.S. at the 2023 FIBA 3×3 World Cup, which ended with a gold medal.

Burdick was on the squad that won the event in 2014.

All four players participated in the 3×3 national team camp recently in Springfield, Massachusetts, and took part in the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series Springfield Stop, where they were runners-up to Canada.

Van Lithe transferred To TCU recently from LSU, where she played with Angel Reese, losing in the Final Four to Caitlin Clark and Iowa. She previously was a star guard at Louisville before joining Kim Mulkey in The Bayou. So this will be her third college team and final chance to reposition herself to be drafted. The 3×3 competition should also help boost her stock entering 2025 if Team USA wins gold.

Cameron Brink and Hailey Van Lithe Attract Male Fans With Femininity

That younger, white privilege that Brink speaks about is actually on display, as her and Van Lith are considered two of the “blond beauties” that have grabbed the attention of male fans and are expected to be huge hit in Paris, not only for their exceptional skills but fashion and popularity off the court, as they ride this new wave in women’s basketball that is sure to get an even bigger boost this summer.