Nobody's blaming the sport of lacrosse for the murder of Yeardley Love, just as it would have been ridiculous to blame college basketball for what happened at Baylor in 2003, when Carlos Dotson murdered his teammate, Patrick Dennehy. Like the Baylor situation, this was a senseless tragedy that transcends college athletics or even everyday crime. It's the sort of thing that makes us question life and justice, in general.
"How could someone like Yeardley Love get beaten to death?"
George Huguely admitted to breaking into her bedroom, attacking her, and smashing her head against the wall. When he left, she lay lifeless on her bed in a pool of her own blood.
"I mean, how can that happen, ever?"
It's truly gut-wrenching. As in, you can't read the description of the crime without feeling a pain in your stomach. And context only makes it worse. Imagine those families again. By all accounts, these were two young people from a stable background, with strong academic and athletic pedigree, and weeks away from graduating college with a world of potential. Now, both their lives are overwith.
That's not lacrosse's fault.
But if we're looking to understand this tragedy in a way that teaches us anything, lacrosse matters. It's part of the conversation..."
Andrew Sharp, over at SBNation.com. If you're interested in the unavoidable lacrosse angle of the Yeardley Love story, it's a must-read.
about 2 years ago
Sean Keeley
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I’m not a lacrosse fan. I grew up in a small town in Western New York where we didn’t even have a lacrosse team at our high school or even in Section 6 at all. I have never actually seen lacrosse played whether on TV or live.
All that said, even with my lack of lacrosse knowledge, this was an amazing read and a great write-up. Goes to show that SB Nation is more than just the great network of blogs, it’s turning into one of my go-to places for sports news in general as well.
Not to get off topic....
I know this is a sad sad story and this write up is fantastic but when did Jamesville Dewitt become a top 10 lacrosse program and West Genny not even be on the list?
Yea Great Article
But JD is no where close to West Genny as a lax program. But we’ll leave that debate for another time.
Dispute
I would have to dispute Mr. Sharp’s characterization of high school lacrosse as being the epitome of the East Coast elitist establishment. From my experience growing up in Central New York this was not the case. Yes, the cultural stereotypes are generally observed – the desperate need of haircuts, the prep look, the aggressive (almost nonsensically so) attitudes – but not all lacrosse players fit that mold.
The majority of major high school lacrosse powers in Central New York, among the best in the nation, are not the private prep-schools you find in Maryland, Virginia, or Washington, DC; these are public high schools without tuition, without the trappings of Mid-Atlantic elitism. Many of these kids come from families without college graduates, working class families not privy to the sense of entitlement that apparently dominates the Mid-Atlantic and southern states.
Cultural differences aside, Mr. Sharp is quick to point out that lacrosse is a sport that requires expensive equipment. I find that comment odd as I know many schools, many small schools, adopt lacrosse as a sport because of the relatively inexpensive investment required to get the sport started at a given school.
While Mr. Sharp’s article is indeed well written and likely insightful into the tragedy at the University of Virginia, it should not be taken as a comprehensive review of national lacrosse culture. I think the views and observations he expresses reflects a parochial view of Mid-Atlantic lacrosse that may not be entirely accurate for lacrosse culture in the northeast and other regions.
Orange you glad it's not football season?
I thought he was pretty upfront
about saying his opinions did not reflect ALL high school lacrosse programs. Just what he saw in the DC area.
I don’t doubt what you’re saying about CNY. That said, having grown up in Central NJ I can tell you it is EXACTLY how he describes it. My high school didn’t get lacrosse until my junior year because it was considered an expensive and “non-core” sport mostly played by private schools. And that’s exactly who 75% of our opponents were in my two years on the team.
It has likely expanded since then (we’re talking 1996) but for the most part when I see the list of schools in NJ that succeed in lacrosse and send players to D-1 programs, its a group of private schools or public schools from very affluent neighborhoods.
Just depends on the region, I suppose.
Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician - The Syracuse blog that cares.
I was almost getting the chills reading it
as it sounds almost EXACTLY like my high school’s lacrosse team. I went to public school in Connecticut, and our school has unquestionably the most dominant program in our region, because the town is one of the most affluent in the southeastern part of the state. But invariably we would get beaten down in one of the later rounds of the state tournament by one of the ridiculously wealthy schools from Western CT. That being said, thinking back to all the big “Lax bros” from my school… they fit his description perfectly. It was the lacrosse stars- both the boys and girls- that pretty much ran the social scene at my high school. And their world was exactly like what he described.
"Wes Johnson's your daddy and daddy's hungry, bitches!"
East Coast elite refers to areas on the coast
Say like MA, CT & NYC/NJ. Central New York with a more blue collar feel is not the impression I got from it.
Go Orange(men)!
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