Inside The Lack Of Racial Diversity In Lacrosse | Syracusefan.com

Inside The Lack Of Racial Diversity In Lacrosse

My goodness. 2013 isn’t exactly back in the day. How do you both not know to not refer to a black player as "colored" and then even brush off a black player on your own team asking for an apology? How did he not at least say something to Jenkins along the lines of “I am not sure exactly why you are asking for an apology from me right now, but can you tell me how I messed up? I want to make this right.” There are two sides to every story but I doubt Jenkins would go as far as threatening to boycott the game unless Rodgers’ responses had at least somewhat of an attitude of “Yeah I said it. So what? Just get over it kid.”

Jenkins was one of my favorite players on the team when he played and I will always remember when he lead a fast break against Duke in the ACC tourney and then celebrated like a madman after we scored. Terrible that someone so clearly committed to the team who gave 110% effort couldn't receive a similar level of respect from the staff when he had a legitimate reason to demand an apology.
 
Embarrassing from Lelan. Where was Desko in all of this?

Busy rolling the ball out and burning bridges with the Iroquois/6 Nations.
 
"Boston has just one program in 125 schools." Thats a shame it was 15 years ago this summer I volunteered for an inner city lacrosse program in Boston when home from SU. So much for all that hubbub about being the fastest growing sport or whatnot.


I don't have any real specific response to the article but NCAA lacrosse is the highest level of the sport since the pro leagues aren't followed at all really and its a real shame that nothing is being done to enhance its visibility because it can easily be the third most popular college sport after basketball and football. Its an absolute joke how early the season starts and ends (baseball world series is a full month later) the regular season has only a couple weeks left once March Madness ends and some common sense changes could make a world of difference.

No clue why these kids play so few games as hitting has been 100% outlawed every clean hit gets flagged the regular season should be at least 20 games IMO. My high school teams played far more games.

I don't have all the answers but the ACC tournament format and SU's last home game being April 13 (a week before Easter) is criminal and the people drawing paychecks from NCAA lacrosse (who you would assume want larger ones) should be pushing for changes so it gets more of the spotlight and more people watch.
 
Here's the reality... Like it or not . Full disclosure, I'm a middle, middle class dude with a kid that has played Lacrosse since 1st grade. I never played Lacrosse, I'm just a student and lover of the game. I've seen a lot... a LOT of stuff...

Lacrosse isnt a money sport... meaning you aren't making BIG $$ playing professionally. In turn, superior Athletes, many of them Black, do not give Lacrosse the time of day. Add to that the cost of what it takes to even participate in the sport and you have the current state of Lax. This void is filled with white kids that make up the majority of the population in the US. This is a privileged sport that costs tons of money to play and be a part of.

You want Lacrosse to explode and be diverse? Make it a full scholarship NCAA sport and create a pro league on par with NHL pay. Problem solved... that and it would eventually overtake football as the greatest american sport. I truly believe that
 
Longest title drought since the team started winning titles. Wake me when he gets back to a Final Four.
What's SU's title drought have to do with your lie that Desko has burned bridges with Native Americans? Seems to be in poor taste to lie to push an agenda you have, which is obviously replace Desko.
 
Lacrosse isnt a money sport... meaning you aren't making BIG $$ playing professionally. In turn, superior Athletes, many of them Black, do not give Lacrosse the time of day. Add to that the cost of what it takes to even participate in the sport and you have the current state of Lax.
Lacrosse will always be lacking when it comes to visibility compared to our big money professional sports, but I doubt a first grader anywhere is making the decision or connection between beginning to play a sport and its future income potential. Your son is growing up in a culture of lacrosse that stems from home and your love of the sport as a fan. That's huge and being middle class doesn't hurt either. A coach like Drew Jenkins is even more magnified when lacrosse isn't in the home through TV watching or family influence.

I'd be interested in seeing data of when D1 lacrosse players began playing the sport. I've known more black students who played lacrosse in high school, but didn't get started until later either in middle school or even high school often through coaches or friends vs. family. This is a barrier unto itself in getting to D1 especially as more specialize in one sport earlier and/or commit to D1 schools earlier.
 
Embarrassing from Lelan. Where was Desko in all of this?
From what I remember, Desko said something along the lines of "it's hard nowadays to know the correct terms to use". Surely in 2013 you have access to rosters and numbers; I'm not sure why you'd even use race to describe an opposing player during a film session...comes across as being odd, lazy and unprofessional at the very least.
 
The racial disparity in the sport isn’t necessarily a problem on its own. But when there is both severe racial disparity in lacrosse, and then black students who chose to participate have stories similar to Jovan’s and Drew’s, you can at least make the case that the lack of diversity has led to a lack of basic racial sensitivity among too large a percentage of players and coaches. Not some stereotypical hippie ivory-tower sociology major’s overly intense standards either, but just basics like not referring to a black athlete as “colored” and not invoking the race of a player when it is not remotely relevant to do so. Kyle Harrison talks about similar experiences on social media, and also offers support and exposure for black youth lacrosse players who have struggled with similar incidents. Obviously this is a complex topic with lots of perspectives, but even if the story doesn’t interest or affect you, or even if you think it is poorly written, maybe “yawn” is still not the greatest response? Maybe saying nothing would be better? Do you want people yawning at stories that attempt to discuss or expose a trend of incidents that belittle an aspect of your own identity?
 
I was merely yawning about the comments about the low percentage of black men in D1 lacrosse - "lack of diversity", while there are other sports D1 basketsball and FBS Football which are well above percentages for black men. I get tired of hearing this.

If a black man, or man of any other race, chooses to play lacrosse, he should be treated fairly and without prejudice. But this is not a perfect world as we all know.
 
What's SU's title drought have to do with your lie that Desko has burned bridges with Native Americans? Seems to be in poor taste to lie to push an agenda you have, which is obviously replace Desko.

Ask the Thompsons what they think of him.
 

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