By: Dontae Scisson
Philadelphia Wings (#26) Defenseman Isaiah Davis-Allen assumes he is the only African American player in the National Lacrosse League who is from the southern United States, which has a different sports culture where Lacrosse is not a popular sport in northern states such as
New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts and western states like California and Illinois.
Technically a part of the south, Fairfax County, Virginia, which is in the northeastern part of the state, the 28-year-old states the history of racial prejudice in the American deep south, such as slavery and Jim crow. The 2000 movie remember the Titans was inspired by a true story of how T.C Williams was an all-white school then was intergraded in 1977, which caused racial tension between African American and white students. One of Davis’s friends had a father who played for the Titans before it was integrated.
In the south, Football, Baseball, and Basketball were the dominant sports down south which led to him playing Lacrosse. Isaiah stated that he was inspired to play after seeing Syracuse
offensive midfielder (#23) Jovan Miller play, and he said that It’s essential to have superstars of color because that’s what everyone sees.”
“Part of the reason it’s important to see players of color isn’t just for the people of color but also for everyone else,” Davis has dealt with adversity because of his race, but as much as he is now a professional Lacrosse player in either the NLL (National Lacrosse League) or (Premier
Lacrosse league) PLL Defensive midfielder (#26), where he also plays and where he is a one-time PLL champion in (2019) and a two-time all-star (2018-2019). We hope to see more African-Americans and people of color play Lacrosse and have more resources so children of color can
have access which will give them the opportunity to play and thrive in the sport of Lacrosse.
