Delaware Refuses to play Delaware State in Football

[TheBearcatHimself]

I just read this article and it will hopefully bring national exposure to the blatant disrespect and racism shown by the University of Delaware towards Delaware State.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=pearlman/070920&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1

When the Delaware AD says a rivalry would make things "too divisive" he has to be joking right? Right?

I am assuming Delaware State doesn't have a lacrosse team...I wonder why?
Even if they did we know who they wouldn't be playing. The two basketball teams didn't play each other until 1991, wow.

[Brent Burns]

Of course, what had happened at Delaware State University where two students were shot around 1 am by a gunman has nothing to do with Perlman's article in ESPN as of yesterday. Hope that these two students would recover from their injuries although the hospital spokesperson stated that these injuries may be life-threatening. My prayers go out to these students.

[Sonny]

I don't know the particulars in Delaware, but many schools have been ducking other teams on the gridiron (& basketball courts) for years and years. (and it hasn't nothing to do with racism). Go ask the WAC or the Mtn West Conference about it.

I am assuming Delaware State doesn't have a lacrosse team...I wonder why?

And that's Delaware's fault? How many other historical Black Colleges across the country have varsity lacrosse teams (or even lacrosse clubs)?

[Brent Burns]

I read somewhere that Kentucky would not play Western Kentucky, is that correct? I also understand that it has nothing to do with racism.

[Kevin OBrien]

I fail to see how this has anything to do with racism, except in the mind of this one reporter.

[TheBearcatHimself]

I am assuming Delaware State doesn't have a lacrosse team...I wonder why?

And that's Delaware's fault? How many other historical Black Colleges across the country have varsity lacrosse teams (or even lacrosse clubs)?

I am in no way implying it's Delaware's "fault" for Delaware State not having a lacrosse team. It's no one's "fault" that most historically black colleges do not have lacrosse teams.

What it is though is a very real extension of white privilege and a reflection of the elite nature of the sport. There is no direct racism involved in HBC&U not having lacrosse teams, but if you say it is not an indirect reflection of class, status, privilege, and opportunity available to whites that are not available to blacks then you are pulling the wool over your own eyes.

As with any situation dealing with race I am not pointing to a situation and saying "do this or that" or saying "white people are wrong", I am simply informing those who would like to be informed of the very real and very poor status of relations between blacks and whites that exist throughout this country right now. And judging by the statements of some people on here, maybe some would prefer to have their heads stuck firmly in the sand?

[Sonny]

You are implying that very fact Will.

There is nothing stopping any college from starting a lacrosse team right now and competiting at the NCAA or MCLA level. Many current MCLA teams receive NADA from their respective schools. No money, no uniforms, no equipment, no field space. They aren't given anything, yet they find a way to succeed.

I'm not sure what your point is. But the same opportunity exists on all campuses across the country.

That's the beauty of America. You can sit back and blame the "man" for all your problems OR you can actually go out and do something about it.

[Beta]

That's the beauty of America. You can sit back and blame the "man" for all your problems OR you can actually go out and do something about it.

Damn straight.

[jessexy]

the same opportunity does not exist for everyone in America. We can get into details about lacrosse and this or that, but a poor white kid from South Dakota or poor Hispanic from East LA or poor Black kid from Chicago do not have the same opportunities as those with money.

You can tie this to race or education or ethnicity or location or whatever, but the same opportunities do not exist across the board for everyone.

This story doesn't look too racist to me, but the "reasons" they've had the past few years are constantly changing and they're pretty lame. After attending a school (Texas A&M) that refuses to acknowledge the separate-but-equal attitude they have for separate-but-unequal Prairie View A&M, I can understand the pain. This also illustrates that race relations are strained all over the country, not just in the SOuth.

Aren't colleges and universities supposed to encourage highler learning, free thinking, and exploring different and new ideas?

[Beta]

the same opportunity does not exist for everyone in America. We can get into details about lacrosse and this or that, but a poor white kid from South Dakota or poor Hispanic from East LA or poor Black kid from Chicago do not have the same opportunities as those with money.

While it is true that someone that comes from money has the easy road...kids with money make up how much of society?

And what about the people that DO rise above? Are they "lucky"? I wouldn't tell them that their hard work was luck.

The hill is steeper for some people, moreso than others...but the hill is still available to climb. And those success stories that do make it up the hill....appreciate it much more than someone that was spoiled their whole lives.

[TheBearcatHimself]

the same opportunity does not exist for everyone in America.

Rock on.

You are implying that very fact Will.

I apologize if what I said seemed to imply that Delaware was at fault for DSU's lack of a lacrosse team. That is not the case. What is the case is that a vast range of complex socio-economic factors are at play, far too complex to blame one -ism, or misguided Delaware boosters.

While you are exactly right, Sonny, that America is a beautiful place for the very fact that any university can create a lacrosse team whenever they want. However, I disagree that DSU would be able to create a lacrosse team tomorrow on the grounds that very few of its students (at this point in history) have grown up in a society and culture that has given them the same advantages as wealthier students that attend other universities with lacrosse teams. Now could DSU create a team soon? As the game spreads yes, but currently it is a game that is favored by wealthier (and again at this point in time whiter) neighborhoods, schools, and regions.

Now I will never blame "the man" alone for these problems, in fact as a white male that plays lacrosse I am part of the problem because I have not yet been able to give the gift of the game to those who are not culturally exposed to it. However, as Sonny said "I can go out and do something about it." I wish to do so and hope to do so soon. At the same time I am a firm believer that spreading the word that many millions of Americans are prevented from enjoying the game through complex social constructs is part of the solution.

In that vein, continued discussion can only help expose more people to the reality of inequality throughout our education systems and society.

[GrayBear]

Aren't colleges and universities supposed to encourage highler learning, free thinking, and exploring different and new ideas?

Maybe. Maybe not.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/columnists/orl-parker2307sep23,0,5225935.column

[LaxRef]

the same opportunity does not exist for everyone in America. We can get into details about lacrosse and this or that, but a poor white kid from South Dakota or poor Hispanic from East LA or poor Black kid from Chicago do not have the same opportunities as those with money.

While it is true that someone that comes from money has the easy road...kids with money make up how much of society?

And what about the people that DO rise above? Are they "lucky"? I wouldn't tell them that their hard work was luck.

The hill is steeper for some people, moreso than others...but the hill is still available to climb. And those success stories that do make it up the hill....appreciate it much more than someone that was spoiled their whole lives.

I have a friend that doesn't understand why all of these poor people don't just put themselves through college and get better jobs. He claims to have paid for college on his own, after all. Of course, he "paid" for college through returns on his investments, and he just doesn't get that people in his family gave him the money for those investments. The poor people that he thinks should just suck it up were worrying about putting food on the table and not getting kicked out of their slum apartment; they never got around to buying stocks for their kids.

Certainly someone who fights their way out of poverty deserves what they get, and it probably isn't luck. But the extension of that thought—that the people who don't dig their way out also deserve what they get—is the problem. There is little class movement in our society, and to a great extent I think that's what the people in power would prefer.

[Sonny]

Poverty is largely a mental disease here in the US.

There is no reason a able-bodied person cannot succeed in this country with the multitude of public and private support. They might not eat surf and turf each night. But then again, neither do I.

[Beta]

What people don't seem to understand is that poverty does not only run rampant in "the hood" in large cities Check out some of the poverty levels in rural areas. Some all white, some all black, some mixed. The difference is crime. The lack of opportunity is actually MORE present in rural areas due to lack of industry, minimal commuter traffic and travel. The slums of cities are "oppressed" by cultural issues (lack of motivation to go to college, higher crimerate, drugs, etc) whereas the rural areas may experience a disproportionately small fraction of that....what is prevalent is human capital flight...where people with promise leave and don't return.

There's a lot of excuses for everything...but not everyone in America can be a millionaire. And not everyone can be middle class. Communism is usually bad, mmmkay?