[
MAILBAG
]
DESIRE VS. TALENT As a sophomore in high school, after I read the article “Making Cuts (or Not)” (January 2013), I could relate to the frustration of the coaches. But players also could get frustrated with teammates. My freshman year, I played
varsity. Most girls were committed to being there and putting in the effort. But some were there for other reasons. Same goes for my club team. This article really puts the weight on their future players’ work ethic, as well as their athleticism. More coaches should take into thought whether the girls want to be there. Regardless of their talent, attitude is what weighs most on the outcome. Poor attitude will rub off on the whole team.
Caroline Debnam Gaithersburg, Md.
KUDOS FOR FORRY As an elite team coach involved in recruiting, our sport is experiencing an avalanche of recruiting camps, clinics and teams promising many things regarding college recruiting. I applaud Forry Smith (“Ninth-Grader Commits,” January 2013).
>>CONTACT US
LaxMagazine.com/Mailbag
The fastest, easiest way to be heard! Submit your letters here fi rst.
Email
feedback@laxmagazine.com, subect line “Mailbag”
Like us at
facebook.com/ lacrossemagazine or /uslacrosse
Follow @LacrosseMag, @USLacrosse
Subscribe to the US Lacrosse channel at
youtube.com/uslacrosse8
U.S. Mail
Mailbag • Lacrosse Magazine 113 W. University Parkway Baltimore, MD 21210
Letters to the Editor and member-submitted images are the exclusive property of US Lacrosse and can be published at any time to include the full name, city and state of residence or employment of the author in any of its media properties, including Lacrosse Magazine and
LaxMagazine.com. With respect to any submission, you grant US Lacrosse a perpetual, nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sub-licensable license to the submission, which includes without limitation the right for US Lacrosse to use, copy, transmit, excerpt, publish, distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, modify and adopt in any form in those properties.
A Publication of US Lacrosse I wish you added what
portion of a scholarship he would receive. More complete reporting would go a long way to educating parents and players on realities of college scholarships.
Don Fagan Fair Oaks, Calif.
BLAME MIDDIES! Regarding “Jamie’s Dilemma” (January 2013), I coached youth boys for 10 seasons. Some years, I’d have a player who wanted to play in goal. I’d give him two-thirds of the game, and make him play fi eld the other third so he’d have options in high school. Most seasons, none of my players wanted to get stuck in goal. I’d pick three kids with potential and make them rotate.
They’d whine a lot, but I’d just grin and point out that: 1. Two games out of three they’d only have to play one half, and they’d have fresh legs the other half to score. And the third game they got to play fi eld the whole time; 2. Ninety-nine percent of goals are not the goalie’s fault. Most are the middies’ fault! Make your goalie’s life so easy that he is bored.
Richard
Calderwood Portland, Ore.
Thank You, Jovan
Samuel McPeak CHULA VISTA, CALIF.
I really connected with your article on Jovan Miller’s boycotting of Warrior products (“Prejudice Within Us,” January 2013) and found it interesting that even players with a much higher level of experience than me have the same kind of prejudice thrown at them. See, I’m a black lacrosse player from San Diego, and I go to a nationally recognized lacrosse powerhouse, Coronado High. I became one of the fi rst — if not the fi rst — black lacrosse players to join the team. Sometimes that does not go over well with people. I’m not saying that my team was racist toward me in any way. In fact, my teammates welcomed me with open arms. However, that was not always true with all the other schools we played. There were times after games when I would go up with my team to shake hands with whoever we played, and instead of shaking my hand when I offered it, they’d pull it away and pretend to scratch their head or adjust their jersey. Normally I would just brush it off as an accident, and I did — until I noticed that more then one guy was doing it, some even laughing as they did it.
One of my worst experiences of prejudice came during a game. I went for a pass and got blindsided by another middie, seemingly out of nowhere.
That itself wasn’t the problem, but what he said next was. He said, “You don’t belong here, you [N-word]!” After that, I began to question why I remained in a game in which I “don’t belong.” However, because of players like Jovan Miller, Chazz Woodson and John Christmas, I learned that one opinion should not affect who I am as a player, or as a person. The article on Jovan Miller made it much easier for me to square my shoulders and continue as a black laxer.
February 2013 >> LACROSSE MAGAZINE 5
[
THE SCOOP] jovan miller boycott
“It certainly wasn’t meant to
offend anyone,” Dixon told LM. “It was never the intent of the marketing program.” Asked what was the origin
of the slogan, Dixon replied, “I don’t want to go into other details.” Miller said Warrior should
have responded to him sooner. “They’re a million-dollar company. Who am I? I’m just a speck,” he said. “They took so long to say something, it’s obviously something to question.” In a column for
LaxMagazine.com, Ohio Machine attackman Chazz Woodson wondered who the gatekeepers were at Warrior. “It’s not the words that
Far left: Miller hopes to use his popularity with the MLL’s Charlotte Hounds as a public speaking platform.
Left: Miller collected his Warrior-issued equipment and took this picture prior to giving it away.
‘Prejudice Within Us’
By Matt DaSilva Jovan Miller’s boycott sheds light on
racial sensitivities in lacrosse J
ovan Miller did not want this to be his legacy in lacrosse. But he said he would rather be known as “the ninja guy” than allow racial stereotypes to go unnoticed in a sport in which he often has felt like “the token black kid.”
Miller, 23, is not a kid anymore.
He’s one of the most popular players in professional lacrosse, an all-star midfielder for the Charlotte Hounds. He’s an assistant men’s lacrosse coach at Queens (N.C.). He is family-oriented and gets homesick for Central New York. And never did he feel more isolated than in November, when on Twitter
16 LACROSSE MAGAZINE January 2013 >>
he staged a boycott of an equipment manufacturer’s goods in protest of a racially questionable marketing slogan. Warrior Lacrosse ran a social media
promotion to give away a pair of its Dojo shoes to people who used the hashtag “Ninja, please” — known as slang for “N-word, please.” The slogan also appeared on the company’s website
and in messages re-tweeted by Warrior- sponsored Major League Lacrosse. Miller said he caught wind of the
campaign Oct. 25 from a Twitter follower, St. Andrew’s (N.C.) University goalie Daniel Bradley, who asked if he should be offended by the slogan as it appeared next to an image of a prominent Warrior- endorsed player.
A Publication of US Lacrosse
Above: At Syracuse, Miller said he was criticized for his goal celebrations and unfairly grouped with other black players.
Miller’s reply: “Be offended.” A similar dialogue ensued via an email
exchange among several black lacrosse players. “It was offensive to all of us, but we were being diplomatic about the situation,” said Miller, who is endorsed by Maverik Lacrosse. “You want to tread lightly when you’re so outnumbered. But in my case, I just couldn’t hold my tongue any longer.” On Nov. 5, Miller made the debate
public. He took to Twitter, vowed to give away all of his Warrior equipment and threatened to retire from the MLL. He later tweeted that he spent more than $200 shipping the equipment from his residence in Charlotte. The boycott made national news when Deadspin reported on it Nov. 8, even though the MLL and Warrior had removed any references to the slogan in their social media outlets. Dave Dixon, chief marketing officer for
Warrior, called Miller to apologize for the campaign. He said he did not know of the phrase’s racial connotation.
A Publication of US Lacrosse
are the biggest issue. After all, neither Warrior nor their marketing team made up the
phrase, ‘ninja please.’ I’m disturbed by the fact that the campaign was cleared,” he wrote. “Either the marketing team did a poor job of researching this... or nobody had the gumption to pull the plug on it.” Warrior has
encountered criticism for its marketing tactics before, Miller said, noting the company has put out sexually suggestive lacrosse products named Penetrator, Stiffi and G-Spot. Warrior also
It’s not the first time Miller has found
himself in the middle of an uncomfortable confrontation about stereotypes in lacrosse. As a freshman midfielder at Syracuse in 2008, he said a teammate made a racially charged joke about what he should be for Halloween. “He didn’t see what was wrong with it.
He didn’t want to hear me. So I went to coach [John] Desko and told him, ‘I’m not coming back to practice until you address this.’ I missed two days of practice, he addressed it, I came back, I talked to the kid and it was over. But I made my stance there,” Miller said. “This is an example of being the token black kid.” Miller cited other examples, from fans
suggesting he grow an afro hairdo, to supporters at Syracuse questioning his academic commitment, to people calling him cocky because he points to the sky after he scores a goal. In college, Miller found he often
“You want to tread lightly when you’re outnumbered. But I couldn’t hold my tongue anymore.”
released a shaft called Dolomite, which could be interpreted as a reference to Dolemite, the title character of a 1975 movie many saw as exploitative of blacks. “This isn’t the first time they pushed the
envelope,” Miller said. “It led me to think that this is blatant.” Miller’s following on Twitter ballooned
to more than 5,000 in the wake of his boycott, but not all followers supported his cause. He re-tweeted messages in which he was called the n-word and a hypocrite. On Nov. 11, US Lacrosse issued a
statement in support of Miller’s “advocacy and courage” in drawing attention to racial issues in the game. “Racially derogatory comments and references impede the advancement of lacrosse and have no place within our sport,” US Lacrosse president and CEO Steve Stenersen said.
was compared to Rhamel and Shamel Bratton, who were dismissed from Virginia in 2011. Some contended the Cavaliers, who went on to win the NCAA championship, were better off without them. He said black lacrosse players are unfairly and unnaturally grouped together. “When the Brattons
messed up, they didn’t just mess up for themselves,” Miller said. “They messed up for African-Americans like me who do things right.” Similar
generalizations have followed him into professional lacrosse. “I feel like I’m not
supposed to fit in here,” he said. “Look at lacrosse right now. Do I have long floppy hair? No I don’t. Do I wear lacrosse pinnies on my futon? No I don’t. Do I wear mid-calves with boat shoes? No I don’t. That’s what’s acceptable.” Although several prominent black
players have eschewed the MLL for Harrison’s LXM Pro Tour, Miller will not join them. Since Warrior discontinued the use of the slogan, he has ended his boycott and intends to play in the MLL in 2013, saying he wants a larger platform to deliver his message on racial stereotypes in lacrosse. “[The boycott] was such a good
experience for everybody to look at ourselves,” Miller said. “We all have prejudice within us.” LM
January 2013 >> LACROSSE MAGAZINE 17
©PEYTON WILLIAMS
©GREG WALL
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100