Iowa State women's basketball: Audi Crooks helps others deal with online negativity

AMES – Iowa State women’s basketball player Audi Crooks was still in high school when the national spotlight starting shining on her.

Crooks, a star at Bishop Garrigan High School in Algona, was labeled as the “Shaquille O’Neal of Girls Basketball!” in a video posted to YouTube three years ago. As soon as the video went online, the page views and the comments piled up.

“The recognition became big, but that’s when you do well,” her mom Michelle Cook said. “That’s when you also face a lot of criticism."

There were plenty of positive comments about Crooks in the video highlights package. But as Crooks and her mom scrolled through, they began to spot others that weren't so kind. Some viewers mocked Crooks, her game and even her weight.

“Those were tough times,” Cook said.

Crooks and her mom have learned to deal with the haters, the trolls and the negative comments. Crooks, now one of the best players in all of college hoops, is trying to become a role model for young people who are dealing with similar issues.

“Recognizing the important things outside of social media, those are things that really help me get through (it) and help ground me if I’m having a difficult time,” Crooks said.

Crooks is praised and criticized

Crooks has been the center of attention on the basketball court for a long time. Crooks earned a starting spot as a freshman at her high school and quickly attracted attention on and off the court. Opposing teams could not slow her down. Colleges from across the country reached out. Fans wrote her letters. Kids stopped her for autographs. Crooks was seen as a future star in women’s basketball.

The fame also brought critics and hatred as her stardom took off on social media. Commenters ripped her game. They mocked her weight. They said racist things. It was a lot for a young kid to take in.

“To experience that kind of wave of negativity and honestly, slightly fame, it was very unexpected, and I had never dealt with anything like that before,” Crooks said.

Crooks being compared to Shaq put her on the map and made her a social media star. But stars are often torn down, and Crooks was no different. Her mom waited to give Crooks her own phone until she was in eighth grade, but couldn’t shield her from the hate that came with it. Internet trolls made memes and cracked jokes about her. Cook herself came under fire.

“Obviously it hurts my feelings when that’s your daughter and when they come after you, insinuating you’re not doing a good job of parenting,” Cook said. “That hurts as well.”

Because she came from a small school in Iowa and played in the smallest class in the state, Crooks had doubters. Many fans questioned if Crooks, who committed to Iowa State in 2022, had what it took to play at the next level. They used Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to sound off on Crooks. Many reached out to her with private messages.

“It’s honestly kind of turned into a little bit of a fond memory because I’ve really, really enjoyed proving people wrong and proving myself right,” Crooks said.

After earning a starting spot as a freshman, she quickly became a star for the Cyclones. During her first season at Iowa State, Crooks recorded one of the best seasons in Iowa State history, setting a new school record for freshman points, beating Megan Taylor’s mark of 460 points. Crook was Iowa State’s leading scorer with 635 points while averaging 19.2 points per game.

She followed that up with an even better sophomore season, leading the Big 12 Conference in scoring at 23.2 points per game.

While most of the interactions on social media are positive, there are still attacks online. Earlier this season, fans mocked Crooks and a young fan when an interaction between the two was posted on social media. Crooks came to the young fan's defense and urged fans to mock her, not the youngster. RAYGUN, a popular apparel store in Des Moines, offered to pay the internet trolls if they came into their shop and identified themselves. No one did.

“It’s disgusting,” said Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said of the negative comments directed at Crooks. “I get more mad than she does about it, to be honest with you.”

“It’s never easy but it’s just a reminder that with the good comes the bad"

The negativity likely isn’t going away for Crooks. She’s become not only a star on the court but off the court as well, using her social media to successfully brand herself as one of the most popular players in women’s basketball. Staying active online is important and rewarding for Crooks. The success has opened up a wide range of NIL deals for Crooks, including one with UScellular, working with the company on their “Life in US Mode” content series.

The series helped bring attention to support mental health of female athletes and promote the practice of establishing healthy digital habits. As part of the campaign, Crooks posted a video on her social media feeds, discussing how she has been affected by negative commentary online.

“I’m somebody that really wants my social platform to promote positive connections and they definitely stood for that as well,” Crooks said.

Getting to the point of focusing on the positive and not the negative hasn’t always been easy for Crooks. Her mom admits there have been times it has been overwhelming. Fennelly said he can even tell if something has gotten to Crooks if she's not her usual outgoing and happy self. He and others have encouraged her not to look at the comments but they understand that's hard to do sometimes. Still, they're astounded by how well Crooks has handled her transition from high school to college and from small-town Iowa kid to major college basketball star.

"You can't do the things she's doing without a major amount of mental toughness," said Iowa State associate head coach Jodi Steyer.

It helps that she has a strong support system. Cook has continually preached the importance of understanding that while she can’t control what people are saying about her, she can control how she responds. Crooks has responded in a positive way by sharing her story with other young athletes who may be going through the same thing. She has used her social media for good, responding to advice from young athletes who reach out to her on X or Instagram.

But with over 63,000 followers on Instagram, Crooks knows well by now that not everyone is going to have something good to say.

“It’s never easy but it’s just a reminder that with the good comes the bad,” Cook said.

The bad days have become less frequent. Crooks deals with it because she knows she can have an impact on others.

“I think she thinks if she can help one, it’s worth it,” Cook said.

Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018, 2020 and 2023 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468

This story was updated to add a gallery.