Back of THE CAGE Forums MID-ATLANTIC LACROSSE MARYLAND MAIN FORUM Girls High School

Not sure this will have a positive impact on her recruiting. It could possibly done the opposite.

As a prior college lax coach (but now full time lax parent), I wouldn’t recruit this player mainly due to the fear that race issues would heavily influence the team dynamic. It’s obvious the parents are hyper sensitive about the issue and although I am not privy to their personal experience, there are too many potential recruits to take the chance on this one girl. I would move on and I am guessing many current coaches will do the same come recruiting time.

☝🏻

Except that's the homogenous safe space BS that perpetuates the glass ceiling and discrimination in the sport. If recruiting were just about winning lacrosse championships then that's one thing. But it's also about granting admissions into many of the world's most elite and selective universities, and in turn into the most coveted and important professions down the road. When coaches at "top" schools like Vanderbilt, Georgetown, Brown, Cornell, Army etc. make it a priority to perpetuate blue-eyed safe spaces even though they are rarely or never in contention for the Final Four, then they are just exercising reverse affirmative action. At many of these schools, it could not be more flagrant that the most important qualification for getting recruited is eye color, not playing ability. Heck, you're already at a disadvantage if you are white but with brown eyes. These safe space coaches are denying admissions to other more qualified applicants who have busted their jerks - whether or not they play lacrosse - and failing in their bigger responsibility to cultivate real future leaders who are capable of comprehending diverse input and competent at tackling diverse issues. The failure is especially egregious at a institution like Army, which pays for student tuition with public tax dollars and has a responsibility to reflect and resemble the best of America's melting pot, not the Mayflower.

That’s the biggest load of BS I’ve read in a while even with your fancy words

Wait-wait-Brown and Georgetown safe spaces for blue eyes? Hardly! Wokeism has broken that glass ceiling long ago.
Now—- if you had mentioned true blue eyed safe spaces like Richmond UVA Denver and Vandy (1 point for you) you’d have a much more credible comment.
Have you even taken a close look at the service academies lately? Another bastion of wokeism.

hahahaha.... someone is extra woke. In the real world coaches get paid to win games. Including all of the institutions you named.

Exactly! What the what!

I love the sport of lacrosse and both of my kids played at the elite level in club and HS and one is still playing D1. The WAPO article, and many of the responses here and on WAPO, are all bull. For the longest time, lacrosse was a only a prep school sport. It has been great to see its popularity grow and to see it spread like it has over the last 20-25 years. However, its growth will be capped, to some extent, by the fact that it is an expensive sport with regard to equipment, field use, transportation, etc. and in the south, deep south and southwest, competes with baseball and softball. Public school AD's simply don't have the budget space to add a sport as expensive as lacrosse. For that reason alone, it will continue to be predominantly regional public and private school sport.

Both of my children played with black players growing up and several of my daughters black teammates are now on, or will be on very good college teams. Like any sport, if you can play, you can play. With regard to the parents of the player in the article, good coaches will tell their players that barring serious injury, they do not want to hear from the parents except at pre and post game meet and greets. There is no surer way to get your child a one way ticket to the bench than to try to discuss playing time, positioning, strategy... with the coach(es). They don't come to your workplace to tell you how to do your jib. Also, I have seen it happen more than once where notoriously PITA parents have significantly harmed their child's recruiting process.

With regard to the socioeconomic elements the bleeding heart WAPO injected into the article, I would love to own and race thoroughbred horses, or maybe a Formula 1 Team, I don't because I can't afford it.

I agree 1000%. The same has been true for both of my kids regarding playing alongside black players and seeing those players be offered excellent opportunities at top 20 Division 1 programs. And I have seen this girl play lacrosse. She is extremely fast and can run like a gazelle but her lacrosse skills are lacking and anyone who watches her play alongside players who have better skills can see that. I watched every minute of the US tryouts this past summer and it was evident. And as for “sticking” players on defense….a lot of coaches will tell you that they put their best athletes on defense so it is actually a compliment unless you think you’re entitled to score goals and do things that show up on the scoreboard.

Having served in uniform for 26 years, I will confidently tell you that all the service academies as well as the OCS/ROTC/etc. commissioning paths are looking for people of character. Nobody is rejected for eye color, skin color, etc. People are disqualified for health reasons, criminal records, etc. but not for the reasons you stated. The military is as close to a meritocracy as you will find in this country. Do problems with racial discrimination exist in the armed services? Yes, as they do in our society. Is it tolerated? Only by Commanders who are inept/corrupt and who will eventually be relieved and forced out of the service.

The military has a responsibility to attract and retain the most highly qualified personnel available. Discrimination (or reverse discrimination, as you suggest) runs counter to that responsibility.

The USMA is in the top 15% of US colleges in terms of racial diversity. 14% of the US population is black. 12% of the USMA Corps of Cadets is black.

The rest of the schools you mention have lower percentages of black students. Is that because of discrimination, or because of the choices students make as to where they apply?

Not true see Colin Powell. Confirmed liar. Talked his country into a needless war.

This whole thread just went woke

US Lacrosse went woke a long time ago.

Yawn.