Jacob Jardel
Sports Editor
@JJardel_Writing
It was Feb. 13, 2016, when Hampton University lacrosse players picked up their lacrosse sticks and charged toward the goal posts in the first game of their inaugural season. They lost 20-3 to Roberts Wesleyan (Division II).
But the score was an afterthought. The game was more than a game. In the words of ESPN contributor Scoop Jackson, what spectators saw was more than a lacrosse team.
When the players took the field that Saturday afternoon, they became the first ever historically black college and university (HBCU) to play Division I Lacrosse. They were also the first HBCU team to play lacrosse since Division II Morgan State dissolved their team in 1981.
Lacrosse is not a new sport by any stretch, likely developing around the turn of the 12th century in native cultures near present-day Canada. However, its familiarity in the black community has dwindled, with only a small percentage of black individuals involved at the Division I collegiate level.
For Hampton players like senior Jeremy Triplett, the sport was completely foreign at some point in time.
“I had never heard of lacrosse, never seen it played, had no inkling of what lacrosse was,” Triplett said in a “Washington Post” interview.
“[A friend] threw the stick on my bed, and I looked at it, thinking it was a jacked-up broomstick or something. I didn’t know what it was.”
He attributed the reason at least in part to his upbringing in Chicago. Another part of the reason could be the elitist reputation the sport of lacrosse has, what with lofty expenses required to join a club, let alone everything else needed to play.
According to NCAA participation data, just about 86 percent of men’s lacrosse players were white, while only 3.5 percent were black. This number is more diverse than the 91.4/2.2 percent split from five years ago, but it’s still a major disparity.
But Howard is trying to reduce the disproportion, and sports media outlets across the nation have taken notice.
ESPN took its flagship show “SportsCenter” on the road to Virginia to document the event. Coaches and teams from across Division I have shown support for the new program. Even the official Major League Lacrosse Twitter account wished the team well.
Lacrosse commentator Anish Shroff mentioned that this support is vital for Hampton’s success and for the expansion of the sport.
“It’s going to take a while to get this off the ground,” he said. “But I really hope the rest of college lacrosse rallies around this program.”
“I think the growth of the game in the future will be based on how successful Hampton is.”
In order for lacrosse to expand the way that many fans, players and coaches want it to, inclusion is going to be key. As Hampton’s program gets off the ground, the playing field needs relocation from the lawns of the white upper-middle class.
And the Hampton University staff is not the first to come to the realization.
“There’s got to be a continuous dialogue about how best to make this game accessible and appealing to the largest audience possible,” former lacrosse player Chazz Woodson wrote in 2012. “Anything short of that makes lacrosse simply a glorified social club.”
That social striation the opposite of what many like Maryland lacrosse coach John Tillman want to happen.
“I think as a sport we want to grow,” Tillman said in a “Post” interview. “We want to get to every area possible and every college possible and also to every geographic region. So I think this is important.”
This philosophy of inclusion is one reason why Hampton’s appearance on the field is significant not only for the sport but also for diversity in general.
Pro lacrosse hall of famer Jim Brown felt like lacrosse symbolized this all-inclusive approach.
“For our schools to recognize that there are other cultures – and they could be fun, serious and skillful – was very good for me,” he said. “I always believed in freedom, equality and justice.”
The emphasis on adding equality in the sport goes beyond which teams have the best or newest gear. It goes into the justice that supersedes whether or not a referee got a call correct. It’s about a freedom to be able to do something without having to surmount obstacles.
There are black lacrosse players at the collegiate level today. Midfielder Myles Jones plays on a top-tier Duke squad, and he has gathered quite the social media following. He’s starting to make waves in the sport.
But in order to change the tide, teams like Hampton need to act as banner carriers for inclusion, whether for HBCUs or young black athletes looking to get into the sport. According to Baltimore Sun reporter Quint Kessenich, it’s what those athletes may need.
“While the Pirates won’t radically transform the landscape of the game overnight,” he said, “they will be a destination and finish line for African-American youngsters who are cradling a stick and ball.”
“Hampton gives them a vision, a dream and a purpose.”