The ‘Deion Sanders effect’ has drastically influenced HBCUs and their athletic programs throughout the country over the last two years, specifically elevating American football and basketball programs. However, soccer in the United States and Canada is predominantly white, unlike American football and basketball. As a result, black girls and women are often either the lone minority or one of very few minorities on their soccer teams from childhood through college. In this two-part article, I interviewed members of the Jackson State University women’s soccer team about their experiences as black women in soccer and their feelings about playing college soccer at an HBCU.
The Minority Outcast in Youth Soccer
Brynn Walker (Junior, Wichita KS): “First time I ever had a teammate who looked like me was when I was 15-16, and we were the only two black girls. It was kinda like we stuck together, you just find a commonality within being, not the outcast but the minority. You find comfort in being with somebody who looks like you, not that we had similar lives, but we were both Black girls in a predominantly white sport so that made us close. Just understanding things that our teammates wouldn’t understand—created the bond.”
Marley Thompson (Junior, Toronto Canada): “I enjoyed it [playing with other black girls] more because I related a lot better to the girls on the team. I feel like we weren’t kinda treated the same way though [as the white girls], I think our coach relied more on our physical abilities rather than our tactical abilities. I did feel a lot more comfortable on the team though. I’m sure they had the same experiences growing up, being just one of maybe three black girls on a team full of white girls. I’m 100% sure they had the same experience.”
Tionna Taylor (Sophomore, Gilbert AZ/Seattle WA): “I guess with being a mixed child, I never really had the opportunity to expand on who I was. So, when all I had was white culture around me, I didn’t really get to express that [black] side of who I am, or if I wanted to express that side I was never really exposed to it. My mom and my stepdad always tried to push me to know who that side of me is, so that’s kind of why I’m at an HBCU, to find who I am. But I was always, one of one, one of two, never more than three at most. And at that, the others were also predominantly mixed, so not even completely black. It’s interesting now that I’m here, I look back on all the things and I’m like ‘wow I really was singled out’ or that I was the only representation and I didn’t even know how to express that, because I was never exposed to it. Or it was always looked down upon if you do something like that, then the stereotypical comments come in. Like ‘oh that’s ghetto,’ ‘that’s black of you,’ stuff like that, that aren’t really fully accepted. So, I mean with youth soccer it was less that I was ostracized, but more in that I was almost gatekept from who I could be or from that side of who I am and my black culture.”
Olivia Cobb (Freshman, Greensboro NC): “I felt like I was an outcast—that I didn’t fit in with the predominant crowd. I felt like I was different, and they always made me feel like I was different and made sure I knew that I was different and that I stood out. So, I always tried to act like them; I tried to straighten my hair every day because theirs was straight and I ended up damaging my hair. They had their cliques, so they made sure I knew that I was an outcast, and they would have their inside jokes and bring them up around me so I would be like ‘oh what are you talking about’ and they would say ‘oh you wouldn’t understand.’”
Caiah Smith (Junior, Atlanta GA): “I was one of three Black girls. I feel like my White teammates just weren’t aware of what they were saying, nor did they care. A lot of the things they were saying just didn’t make sense to me. ‘Is that your real hair? Is it fake? Can I touch it? I’m half Hispanic is it okay if I say the “n” word?’ Yeah, I heard that stuff a lot. There was literally a time where one of my teammates and she was showing me her phone or whatever and her boyfriend had texted her and was literally calling her the “n” word and I saw it on her phone, and I was like ‘okay.’ She was like ‘oh he’s just messing around; I don’t know why he said that he’s just messing around.’ Okay but why are you cool with him saying that, why is that something that you’re calling each other? The music we’d listen to, like I’d be fine with in my headphones but sometimes I would hear people slip up and say the word. I was always super uncomfortable. It sucks because you want to be competitive that way you can get to college and be able to be scouted and play at a high level; but there weren’t many high-level teams that had a bunch of Black girls on the team or a bunch of girls that weren’t super, super privileged that didn’t have to watch their mouths or anything like that.”
‘Big, fast, and strong’
Maya Thompson (Sophomore, Toronto Canada): “Being acknowledged for my speed is a compliment, but it’s kind of old. People have said that to me my whole life, but I’m good at other stuff too. Maybe they [White society] think that we find it flattering, or they think it’s a safe characteristic to portray on Black women because it’s true and they apply the stereotype. It’s true sure, but I’ve been playing soccer since I was 7, so for 12 years I’ve been working on things other than my speed so it’s good to receive credit for other things. I’m not a track runner so I don’t just want to be ‘fast.’ I want to be technical, coachable, not viewed as intimidating all the time.”
Olivia: “When I was younger it didn’t really bother me, I was like ‘oh yeah everybody thinks I’m fast and strong, it’s a good thing.’ But later, I realized it was like a backhanded compliment, it was never like ‘oh you’re a very technical player or you have good passes and execute shooting well,’ it was just ‘you’re strong and fast.’ So, it was a very backhanded compliment.”
Brynn: “…fast, strong. Those two are the biggest. Aggressive. That was always one that was used to describe me. Those three words are kind of like trigger words now, I just don’t want to hear those three words. I heard those words growing up my whole life… It’s not even a compliment at this point, it’s very shallow and surface level.”
Kori Walters (Junior, Clackamas OR): “I was always just strong. And I think because that constantly was all they gave me, that’s kind of what I built my player persona off of—being able to hold myself on the ball—which I feel prohibited my development in other areas. I could’ve been working on speed or quickness or technical pieces this whole time but because nobody ever believed in me in that aspect, which I do believe is partially because of my race, I never got that extra work. It was always just ‘start weightlifting at age 14’ and build off that.”
Alessia Skinner (Junior, Toronto Canada): “Honestly, it’s just frustrating. As an athlete you want to be recognized for all your attributes because that’s what you’ve been working on since you were little. You don’t want to just be known as the person that’s fast or strong like they would label every other Black person.”
Kyla Sands (Sophomore, Alta Loma CA): “I feel like when people talk about black girls in soccer it’s just always about them being fast, it’s always that they’re not technical but they’re fast. You need to step back and realize they are a soccer player trying to get better and saying that about someone, it’s just rude. Saying that they’re not technical because they’re just fast, nobody ever says that about white girls. It’s always ‘oh this number is good at this and that’ but it’s never what they’re not good at. That’s one thing that I cannot stand, because even at this level, even though we do go to an HBCU, people say ‘oh she’s fast but she has no skill,’ but you’re not gonna say that about the white girl on an HBCU team.”
HBCU Soccer
Caiah: “It was actually very eye-opening and kind of heartwarming. I was very pleased because it was something I never experienced before because soccer is not necessarily a predominantly Black sport [in the U.S.]. Just in general I feel like Black girls are the minority in soccer, so it was definitely something new and something I’ve always wanted and been kind of craving. It kind of sucks to be an outlier your entire life so I was like ‘okay I definitely want to go somewhere where I’m playing with people that look like me, who want to play at the same level, who want to compete, who are here for the same reasons I am. It was really nice to see and meet other people who feel the exact same way—to meet other people who also wanted to go to an HBCU because they wanted to play with other Black girls.”
Marley: “I played my first year and a half of college soccer at a PWI (Predominantly White Institution). I was the only Black girl on the team. I don’t think they were really looking out for my best interests at that school, and I believe my experience as a Black female athlete was hindered there. It was a completely different experience there, especially in comparison to where I am playing now [at an HBCU]. On the field when I first got here, my speed wasn’t the first thing talked about, it was my passing ability, my creativity, my vision on the field, my ability to make those passes to the strikers. I was like ‘damn okay, I’m actually a good soccer player; I’m not just fast, I’m not just athletic. It’s a completely different experience. I love my team. It feels good to see people like me at such a high level. We couldn’t have made it here just because we’re strong or fast, so it’s good to see so many Black girls playing at one of the highest levels in soccer and playing on a team together.”
Kyla: “I love it because I’m not a minority on the team, even though I never experienced being excluded because I am a minority. Everyone here looks like me and we all have different experiences, but we still have something in common because we’re black and we play soccer. I feel like it’s a family, because we all have something in common—something serious and not just like our favorite color or something.”
Tionna: “I was at a pretty big PWI. On the soccer team we had 45 people on the roster. And I was one of 3 black girls you could say, but all 3 of us were mixed so we didn’t even really have that much representation. You can’t really talk about racial issues when your whole coaching staff and everybody on the team is white because you feel like when you speak out you’re singled out, and you don’t really have people that understand you. Being at an HBCU, you feel more connected to the people on campus. And I feel like you can kinda find who you are within the mix of people here. It’s a lot more inclusive than a PWI. Here, the soccer team has a very diverse culture and has a very wide range of people. You can be you without having to question who that is or what people think. When I was on a team of 45 and I was one of three, I just felt kind of there and didn’t really feel accepted. I’d say we have a pretty good mix of people here. You can fit in where you fit in, say what you want to say, do what you want to do. Because it’s more diverse and people come from all walks of life, they can better understand you. But it’s upsetting that as I was growing up, I didn’t know the environment that I was in until I came to an HBCU, and I now see that I was supposed to be included. This is how it was supposed to be. I grew up one of one on a team, and I just thought that’s how it was. [Attending] an HBCU has opened my eyes to what I could have been or who I should have been, and I hate that it’s taken me 20 years to know that.”
This article resonates with me so much. My daughter has been one of two or three until this year. She has had her similar moments as these ladies. I am happy that they have found a home at #TheeILove that nurtures all aspects of them. I would like the JSU team to reach out to their community rec soccer organizations of CJSO, SWJSO, and Byram SA, so that little girls who look like them can be inspired by the JSU soccer team in every way.