Minorities in lacrosse?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd never heard of lacrosse until I went to college. It was one of those sports that totally wasn't culturally biased for SAT purposes yet seemingly only available to people who went to wealthy / UMC high schools (see also: sailing, golf, crew).

I didn't learn that lacrosse was a Native American sport until I was well into adulthood.

I don't know what annoys me more, the whitewashing of a sport that rightfully should belong to BIPOCs, or the fact that what could have been America's true national sport has been relegated to the privileged few and virtually inaccessible (and unknowable) to most Americans.

Inaccessible? There is a lacrosse team at virtually every public high school in northern Virginia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd never heard of lacrosse until I went to college. It was one of those sports that totally wasn't culturally biased for SAT purposes yet seemingly only available to people who went to wealthy / UMC high schools (see also: sailing, golf, crew).

I didn't learn that lacrosse was a Native American sport until I was well into adulthood.

I don't know what annoys me more, the whitewashing of a sport that rightfully should belong to BIPOCs, or the fact that what could have been America's true national sport has been relegated to the privileged few and virtually inaccessible (and unknowable) to most Americans.

Inaccessible? There is a lacrosse team at virtually every public high school in northern Virginia.

👆😂😂😂

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Inaccessible? There is a lacrosse team at virtually every public high school in northern Virginia.

And northern Virginia is reflective of the entire country. Sure, Jan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know what annoys me more, the whitewashing of a sport that rightfully should belong to BIPOCs

Hmmmm, if whites aren't allowed to play lacrosse because BIPOCs own it, then BIPOCs are forbidden to play tennis and golf, right?

Anonymous wrote: or the fact that what could have been America's true national sport has been relegated to the privileged few and virtually inaccessible (and unknowable) to most Americans.

But how can lacrosse be America's national sport if BIPOCs own it and America does not consist entirely or even mainly of BIPOCs?

How can a diverse nation even have a national sport if the sports all "belong" to different ethnic groups and the other groups are not allowed to appropriate it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in Fairfax. A fair number of Asian-American boys playing in youth, HS and club, definitely more than African-Americans and Hispanic/Latinos. Those numbers will grow.

How many Asian-American, AA and Hispanic/Latinos lacrosse players are there on a Power-5 school team, like UVA, VA Tech, JMU, etc?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, you are correct. It’s mostly a rich white sport.

White kids can’t compete in football and basketball so they do country club sports like lacrosse.

You can look at every roster in college or “pro” and it’s 95+% white.

The only “diversity” you might find on a team is Native Americans.

This is like saying you don’t find many other races besides white kids in lacrosse because they can’t compete.
I don’t think you understand white kids play lacrosse because it is genuinely one of the most fun sports out there I mean take it from bill belicheck and the Kelce brothers they all love it. And it is a specifically tough sport almost up there with football. The hits might not be as big but imagine just getting swatted by a 6 ft metal pole about 100s times where you don’t have any protection. Does that not sound tough.

[Anonymous]

"Country club" sports are non-contact, like swimming, golf, tennis--all the sports you find at your summer club facility. I wouldn't categorize lacrosse as one, though your point is taken that it remains mostly a white sport. There are some great outreach programs in NYC and DC (and I'm sure other urban areas) to expose the sport to non-white, lower-income kids, and it seems to be taking hold.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP is correct, there are less POC in lacrosse than the population at large. It isn’t none, but it is still a mostly white sport. Fortunately, that is changing as the sport grows and as barriers to access fall.

Is football racist against whites and Asians?

Different positions have had issues. Christian McCaffrey has talked about some of the problematic stereotypes in football. His position and his dad's (WR) are the big two where there have been some questionable assumptions made about players in the modern NFL. Similar problems with racism toward African Americans have plagued the QB position too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Country club" sports are non-contact, like swimming, golf, tennis--all the sports you find at your summer club facility. I wouldn't categorize lacrosse as one, though your point is taken that it remains mostly a white sport. There are some great outreach programs in NYC and DC (and I'm sure other urban areas) to expose the sport to non-white, lower-income kids, and it seems to be taking hold.

They are taking hold but are doing so way too slowly in my opinion. Lacrosse is one of the sports where it is questionable for elite colleges to continue to give admissions preferences because of the demographics ($$ and race) of the sport and the fact that lax programs almost all lose $$ and lack big attendance numbers.
It is embarrassing to see Maryland playing in the football stadium with a few thousand people there

[Anonymous]

https://www.homeanddesign.com/2023/04/24/point-of-view-2/
Their son plays lax at Duke!

Even geographically, lacrosse still lacks much diversity:
https://goduke.com/sports/mens-lacrosse/roster

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Country club" sports are non-contact, like swimming, golf, tennis--all the sports you find at your summer club facility. I wouldn't categorize lacrosse as one, though your point is taken that it remains mostly a white sport. There are some great outreach programs in NYC and DC (and I'm sure other urban areas) to expose the sport to non-white, lower-income kids, and it seems to be taking hold.

They are taking hold but are doing so way too slowly in my opinion. Lacrosse is one of the sports where it is questionable for elite colleges to continue to give admissions preferences because of the demographics ($$ and race) of the sport and the fact that lax programs almost all lose $$ and lack big attendance numbers.
It is embarrassing to see Maryland playing in the football stadium with a few thousand people there

What is questionable and who is asking a question? The lacrosse players in the IVY league have to meet high academic standards. Google AI index.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I was at Goucher college in Townson Maryland last week for a college tennis tournament. There was a lacrosse tournament at Goucher college for kids between 16 and 18, and there must had been ten different teams there, from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, etc… I went over and watch the lacrosse tournament because it is right next to the tennis courts. I noticed that there aren’t any POC or Asians lacrosse players. I find that very interesting. In my Langley neighborhood, most Asians kids I know play either tennis or golf, haven’t met one with lacrosse. Maybe because of the physicality of lacrosse?

Your posts throughout the thread reflect an obsession with race, class, and status. Haven’t learned much about lacrosse, but I do understand better why so many now deliberately avoid the Langley neighborhoods and why Langley’s enrollment has been declining for years.

It’s quite a privilege to not have to think of or be aware or reminded of one’s race, class, and status in daily life. That’s something not everyone in this county has the privilege of.

The lacrosse community needs to have these discussion if it truly values diversity, growth of the sport, and being taken seriously as a real sport with real athletes.

LOL what is the core purpose of "the lacrosse community" - is it playing lacrosse, or "valuing diversity"? Why does every human activity have to be a diversity project that is primarily valued for its contribution to diversity? I know you can't even see how crazy your race obsession, but maybe someday you'll wake up.

Nobody in the lacrosse community agrees with you.

They want and value diversity and know they need to do better.

I am in the lacrosse community.
No one in the community cares about diversity.

I mean, honestly, I’m sure that some people don’t want to diversify. Once everyone gets engaged, there won’t be as many opportunities for current demographics, right?

Anyway, historically, it’s mostly a white sport. That means that current adults who played are mostly white. My (minority) kids love basketball and, yes, football, because DH loves those. We tried soccer but it didn’t stick because there wasn’t as much enthusiasm at home.

Most kids get involved with what they see at home and in their communities, so it’s cyclical. As more minorities play lacrosse, you’ll see more kids interested, both because they see people like themselves on the field but also because they may know someone who actually enjoys playing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd never heard of lacrosse until I went to college. It was one of those sports that totally wasn't culturally biased for SAT purposes yet seemingly only available to people who went to wealthy / UMC high schools (see also: sailing, golf, crew).

I didn't learn that lacrosse was a Native American sport until I was well into adulthood.

I don't know what annoys me more, the whitewashing of a sport that rightfully should belong to BIPOCs, or the fact that what could have been America's true national sport has been relegated to the privileged few and virtually inaccessible (and unknowable) to most Americans.

Inaccessible? There is a lacrosse team at virtually every public high school in northern Virginia.

And how easy are those team to make for kids whose parents didn't spend thousands (probably 10s of thousands by high school) on club lax?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd never heard of lacrosse until I went to college. It was one of those sports that totally wasn't culturally biased for SAT purposes yet seemingly only available to people who went to wealthy / UMC high schools (see also: sailing, golf, crew).

I didn't learn that lacrosse was a Native American sport until I was well into adulthood.

I don't know what annoys me more, the whitewashing of a sport that rightfully should belong to BIPOCs, or the fact that what could have been America's true national sport has been relegated to the privileged few and virtually inaccessible (and unknowable) to most Americans.

Inaccessible? There is a lacrosse team at virtually every public high school in northern Virginia.

And how easy are those team to make for kids whose parents didn't spend thousands (probably 10s of thousands by high school) on club lax?

There are kids out there that are just athletes that do not need to spend years on a club team before high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd never heard of lacrosse until I went to college. It was one of those sports that totally wasn't culturally biased for SAT purposes yet seemingly only available to people who went to wealthy / UMC high schools (see also: sailing, golf, crew).

I didn't learn that lacrosse was a Native American sport until I was well into adulthood.

I don't know what annoys me more, the whitewashing of a sport that rightfully should belong to BIPOCs, or the fact that what could have been America's true national sport has been relegated to the privileged few and virtually inaccessible (and unknowable) to most Americans.

Inaccessible? There is a lacrosse team at virtually every public high school in northern Virginia.

And how easy are those team to make for kids whose parents didn't spend thousands (probably 10s of thousands by high school) on club lax?

At most public schools -- plenty easy. A good athlete who never picked up a stick before could make a team at many schools and could be recruitable by junior year.