Minium: ODU Lacrosse Team Tackled the Tough Issue of Race In Sports Head On
By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – Race is one of those issues that can lead to uncomfortable and even painful conversations.
But that was not the case a few weeks ago when Theresa Walton, Old Dominion’s women’s lacrosse coach, brought her team together for a frank and open discussion about race and their chosen sport.
Lacrosse, both in the men’s and women’s games at all levels, is largely a “white” sport comprised primarily of players from suburban areas.
There were 397 Black Division I women’s lacrosse players nationwide last season, and while that marks a 38 percent increase in a decade, that means the average DI team has just three African Americans.
ODU has 38 players on its roster.
ODU had not had an African-American player since Anna Davis, Class of 2020, until this spring. But ODU now has three, two transfers and a freshman, all with their own unique perspectives and experiences.
With Black History Month approaching, Walton brought her team together in late January for an open forum. And some of the stories from ODU’s three Black players stunned the rest of the team.
Lydia Laney is a sophomore transfer from Xavier who grew up south of Charlotte, North Carolina, and it was heartbreaking to hear her describe the comments she sometimes heard from opponents when playing high school and club lacrosse.
“I have been called the worst names,” she said. “When I was playing, sometimes I was called the worst names in the book.
“And like I would want to cry on the sideline, but I knew I couldn’t. There were times when I wanted to quit and knew I couldn’t.
“I would look at my dad and he would give me the thumbs up and my looked at my mom and she would be smiling. And I would be OK.
“But sometimes after a game, I would be sad because I was like, ‘Dang, I really wish I had people to like stick up for me.’”
Teammates Olivia Scott, a transfer from George Mason, and Ary Branch, a freshman from Charlottesville, also told their stories, and while there’s weren’t as ugly as the issues Laney experienced, all three said it was gratiftying to hear that their ODU teammates will stick up for them.
“I was really surprised that we had that conversation,” Scott said. “It caught me off guard. I went up to coach T (Walton) afterwards, because it actually made me a little emotional.
“I’ve never been on a team that talked about it before. It really caught me off guard because I didn’t think that’s what we were going to be talking about.”
The support from her teammates was amazing, she said.
“I’ve never felt that feeling before,” she said. “It was like love and community in a single room. There was no backlash. It was an open conversation where we all got to talk about our experiences and how everyone felt.
“It was really cool to see. I hope we can keep doing that.
“I’ve never been a part of a sit-down conversation like that. And that’s important because that’s how we learn, and that’s how we grow.”
Laney said the conversation “really shocked me. I know after the meeting that all of those girls in the locker room had my back and the whole coaching staff has my back.
“That was really nice to hear.”
Branch went to St. Anne’s-Belfield, a private school in Charlottesville, which is largely a progressive community, and so she said she faced less racism than Laney. But she was a late comer to lacrosse. She went to St. Anne’s-Belfield to play basketball and then was recruited to play lacrosse.
She said playing lacrosse “took me a little out of my comfort zone.” But she said her teammates there were supportive and made her feel comfortable.
She felt instantly comfortable at ODU, one of the nation’s most diverse universities. ODU isn’t an Historically Black College and University but Branch thought it was when she first visited ODU.
“There is so much diversity here that I think anybody from any background would feel comfortable here,” she said.
She said the meeting with her teammates blew her away.
“When we had that conversation, I felt so loved, so cared for, like they really want to help make a difference. They told us that if anything was to happen to us, that they would have our backs. That just makes me feel so loved.”
Walton is white, but attended a Black-majority high school in Syracuse, New York. She grew up playing lacrosse “and it never crossed my mind that the sport was racially divided, not until I was an adult.”
She said she was saddened to hear about the racism her players faced.
“Ary said that’s why we need to shed light on Black history not just in February, but 365 days per year,” she said. “And she’s right. Black history needs to be celebrated daily.
“You wished those things don’t exist, that the things that happened to them did not happen. But you know even a slight comment can be a dagger. You hate to hear it still exists, but you have to be able to recognize it and know how we can help, and how we can be advocates and support them.
“It was awesome to hear them talk about was how much they know their teammates would have their backs if they faced adversity, too.
“We want to continue to grow the diversity our team and know that we’re bringing in the best people along with great players.”
At 3-1, ODU is off to its best start in more than a decade and Saturday plays at Campbell, a game originally scheduled in Norfolk but moved because of the storm that blanketed Norfolk with a foot of snow.
Laney, Scott and Branch are all playing significant minutes for the Monarchs and Laney, a starter, has a goal and six assists.
The team is playing with more passion than any in recent memory, and the bonding the team went through during that January meeting surely helped.
“I knew the first time I stepped on the field with these women that this team was going to be improved,” Scott said. “You could feel it.
“This team is really close, really together.”
In more ways than one.
Minium is ODU’s senior executive writer. Contact him at hminium@odu.edu or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram