12
Thursday, July 2, 2020
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS
Mwangi’s
first
wave
was
the product of COVID-19 and
the disproportionate mortality
rate between Black and white
Americans
exacerbated
by
disparities in healthcare access
and employment opportunities.
The second and third waves
were
based
on
the
police’s
double standard in managing
its altercations with Black and
white individuals: The absence of
aggression towards armed, white
protestors who stormed state
capital buildings in opposition
to stay-at-home orders versus
the brute force used in Floyd’s
murder and recent BLM protests.
“(The white population has)
embraced it as part of their
fight,” Mwangi said. “For so long,
it’s been our fight to burden, but
this perfect storm illustrates that
after what has happened, you
cannot dispute that the systems
that enable racism are alive and
well. Their involvement is what
is allowing for this change to
happen, and for it to happen so
loudly.”
Despite
his
positivity
regarding
the
status
of
white activism, Mwangi was
dissatisfied with his teammates’
response
to
recent
racially-
focused events prior to the Zoom
call. Many of them reached out
to him personally but had not
been vocal on social media.
“They’ve
expressed
their
views to me, and that’s been
good,” Mwangi said. “But at the
end of the day, I’m not the one
who needs to hear that they’re
with me. I need them to let
their white friends and family
members know that they stand
with me. … For me, to have
someone text me and ask if I’m
okay, that’s nice, but it doesn’t
solve the problem.”
According to Mwangi, his
white teammates have a larger
platform because of the color
of their skin, so they need to
use their privilege to take on
a more significant role in the
movement.
“White people have a voice,
and they are heard, unlike Black
people,” Mwangi said. “Being
silent is being compliant. By
not saying anything, you are
saying something, and it’s loud.
It speaks volumes. … Their
involvement is crucial to any
change happening.”
***
The topic and issue of racial
equality in lacrosse extends far
beyond the scope of Michigan’s
team.
Concerns about diversity in
the sport and socioeconomic
barriers to playing have long
been ignored. Despite the game’s
origins
in
Native
American
culture, it has been captured by
the stereotype of the ‘lax bro:’ a
white preppy kid with long hair
who comes from an affluent
background.
“The history of (lacrosse)
has been stripped away and the
game has become this separate
entity,”
Mwangi
believes.
“There needs to be an active
effort to increase the diversity
of the game, grow the game
more and educate ourselves on
the history of the game. Because
it didn’t start at white prep
schools; it’s much deeper than
that. To many groups of people,
it’s a way of life. … So we need to
respect that wholeheartedly in
order to play the game the way it
was intended to be played.”
Lacrosse is one of the fastest
growing sports in the United
States.
In
2018,
nearly
1.1
million boys and girls played
in a youth lacrosse league. In
the state of Michigan, lacrosse
saw the greatest increase in
participation rate of any high
school sport in 2019.
Yet the game’s growth has not
been equitable.
Many
communities,
particularly in cities, have been
unable to adopt the sport because
of its incredibly high associated
costs. In Philadelphia, only ten
out of 42 city public high schools
had a varsity lacrosse program
in 2019. In Washington D.C.,
only two schools had programs.
While
many
high
school
football programs are funded
by the schools themselves, and
playing basketball only requires
a pair of shoes and a ball,
purchasing lacrosse equipment
can cost hundreds of dollars per
person. Since very few schools
provide
lacrosse
equipment
for their student athletes, it is
often up to the individual to buy
their own gear — an enormous
financial burden to middle and
low-income households.
Aware of his own privileges
to be able to afford his lacrosse
equipment,
Mwangi
also
acknowledged the high cost of
playing for a summer club team.
The club teams provide access
to summer tournaments and
showcases, where the majority
of college recruiting is done. The
inability to afford membership
dues for one of these club teams
could make or break a player’s
chances
of
playing
at
the
collegiate level.
In spite of these hurdles,
several
groups
across
the
country are working to boost
racial
and
socioeconomic
diversity in lacrosse.
Liam McIlroy is the head
coach of the boy’s lacrosse team
at Cass Tech, the only Detroit
public high school currently
offering lacrosse as a varsity
sport. Last May, after watching
his student athletes fall in love
with the game during their
debut season, McIlroy joined
forces with Christianne Malone,
a longtime advocate for lacrosse
in Detroit, to co-found Detroit
United
Lacrosse
—
a
club
dedicated to growing lacrosse
in the city by giving male
and female student athletes a
platform to develop their skills
outside of the regular season
through summer tournaments
and recruiting showcases.
“We’re building community,
not
only
with
playing
experience, but also the fact
that when we go to different
tournaments,
showcases
and
scrimmages we are the only team
that is a majority team of color,”
McIlroy said. “We represent
a very diverse cultural team.
(And) we are going to continue
to work with the players that
we have and help them build
their own root systems in their
neighborhoods and find their
own identity within the game.”
After only one season of
existence, Detroit United has
had five of its student athletes
commit to play lacrosse in
college — all five having never
played lacrosse one year prior.
Respectively,
America
and
the lacrosse community have
a long way to go to reverse the
tides of institutionalized racism
and inequality. But right now,
as Mwangi says, the perfect
storm
has
presented
both
with an opportunity to make a
difference.
Whether or not they will,
though, is up to them.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MBOGO MWANGI
Mbogo Mwangi guarding now-sophomore midfielder Jake Bonomi in a University of Michigan lacrosse practice.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MBOGO MWANGI
Mwangi huddles with Michigan lacrosse teammates.
‘THE PERFECT STORM’
From Page 11