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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’
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