‘Changing the Norm’: How Black Lax in Maryland is Taking Off

High school lacrosse playoff week. Pregame tensions are running high between two of the top teams in the Washington, D.C., area before a 7 pm face off. As senior goalie Tommy Gross, who has a Black dad and a white mom, takes the field against Paul VI High School on May 3rd, 2022, he looks over at their bench and sees there are zero players of color on their team. He and 4 others on his team will once again be the only Black players in the game. Gross, who is biracial, is a little bothered by this. He knows a large part of why there are no Black kids on the other team is due to some racial taunting the school can be known for. The US population has a 13% Black population, with a small amount playing lacrosse. 

As a leader, Gross knows he cannot let them into his head, and he ended up performing well with a remarkable “save” percentage of 47.4%, albeit in a tough loss that ended his season. However, Gross had won a bigger battle that season and during his high school career, which was performing at the highest level while being a minority by simply outworking everyone else.

A senior goalie from The Heights School in Potomac, Maryland, Gross has always stood out on the lacrosse field—not just for his skill, but for his role as a trailblazer in a sport often seen as exclusive to one race. Growing up in ethnically diverse Silver Spring, Maryland, Gross was accustomed to a melting pot of cultures. Playing at a school with little diversity was initially a challenge, both on and off the field.

Gross’ journey in lacrosse has been marked by resilience and determination on and off the field. It was early on in his freshman year of high school that Gross experienced racial issues in those areas. Lacrosse, long regarded as a sport for the privileged, was a world of barriers for many, especially for minorities. Just 14 years ago, the sport’s minority participation was a mere 6%, with only 1.9% of players at the collegiate level being Black. In 2016 Hampton University finally broke ground with the first Division 1 men’s program at a historically Black college. These major breakthroughs are, “huge milestones for an ever-growing sport,” said Grant Lanham, a former teammate of Gross and Agwamba.

Lacrosse has always been seen as a “privileged” sport where only the rich and prestigious could partake. But growing prominence on TV, scholarships and other opportunities have shaped a new view of the sport in the Black community in the last decade.

Gabe Robinson, an attackman at St. James School in Hagerstown, Maryland, remembers his first time picking up a stick. “Just being able to play with the stick felt fulfilling,” he said. Robinson noticed that as time went on, there were black kids that stopped playing simply because they could not keep up with the big financial commitment. 

Lacrosse is expensive, with sticks alone costing between $80–$250, plus other equipment like goggles, cleats, mouth guards, and helmets. Some say it's only accessible to the economic elite. But as years have gone by, the increased number of players leading to mass production of equipment have led to reduced pricing and therefore an increased interest in the black community. Robinson witnesses this firsthand and feels it more as he gets older, saying whenever he takes the field, having more black people makes you feel “less alone and more accepted.” However, more black players on the field does not solve all the issues. 

When he was in sixth grade, Robinson was playing in a lacrosse game for his travel team. During the game, one of his teammates of color (me) got into a ground ball scrum with another white player. Somehow it got heated, and it led to the opposing player calling his friend the n-word and a short brawl between the two. Robinson had to hold him back as he was trying to go after the other kid, who was ejected shortly after. Their coach, Ben Chisolm, who played at The University of Maryland for his college career, told them, “You cannot respond like that. You will let them win.” 

Robinson learned from that experience how some people in the sport still saw and looked down on minority players. He took his coaches’ words to heart by not letting anyone say he did not deserve to be where he was at any point and time by outworking them on and off the field. His hard work is paying off as he will play in college for Hamilton College starting in 2025.

“[It] sucks that we still live in a separated world [in parts of the country,]” said Iona University freshman defender Jason Agwamba, who attended the same high school as Gross. His journey underscores the importance of community and support systems in overcoming barriers in sports.

In a separate instance at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., in 2023, star midfielder Cody Hobson was the recipient of a degrading racial prank by a white player on his team. Hobson opened his locker to find a monkey mask and a banana lying in it. He was hurt that someone who he took the field with would even think about doing something as derogatory as it was to him, the school, and the team.

Although the kid was expelled, “[It was] something Hobson should have never had to endure simply because the kid sincerely believed he would get away with it,” said Lanham. This is an attitude which is dissipating, but sometimes not fast enough.

Many of these racial issues rely on the stereotypes against minority players. Robinson, Gross and Agwamba all have had moments where someone either in their family or a stranger looked at them sideways because they said they played lacrosse. It does not sit right with them that people think the sport is only “for rich boys,” said Agwamba. Agwamba spent little money on equipment during high school, saying, “If you genuinely love the sport, that’s your payment right there.” Agwamba credits one of his best friends as well for giving him equipment so that he did not have to spend much money.

Cultural aspects of the game can seem unappealing to the eye of a kid that does not come from your typical “private school neighborhood” such as Agwamba, who grew up in Laurel, Maryland, which has a large black population. White institutions have created rules and regulations that make it more appealing to students who attend wealthy private schools. The game's exclusivity and large team size make it appealing to families looking to improve their children's chances of getting into prestigious universities. 

Gross, who is now the goalie for St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, saw the increase of black kids taking advantage of these opportunities in recent years, such as Will Wright, a first generation US citizen who attends Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts, plays for Next Level Lacrosse in Bethesda, Maryland and will play at Boston University next year. Gross knows these scholarship opportunities to these prestigious schools have the opportunity to “change a kid’s life,” and a prime example is Wright, who may have not had that opportunity even 15 years ago. 

This inspires student-athletes of color to excel not only on the field, but also in the classroom, where the opportunity to be accepted into a top college through sports and good grades is now a real possibility these kids can lean on. 

Another reason why more black kids are picking up a stick is because of players coming back to their communities and running clinics or travel teams directed toward those who may have no other way to access the sport. One of the top programs, Harlem Lacrosse, serves more than 1,000 students nationwide across 19 programs in Baltimore, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles with a focus on low-income communities and students who are most vulnerable to academic decline and drop out. 

One of Gross’ highlights of high school was playing for Nations United, a travel team featuring top black players from around the country. As one of a few black students at his high school, Gross says he felt “more accepted” in a sense like Robinson when surrounded by more guys that looked like him.

These black athletes serve as role models and advocates for the sport within their communities. Their achievements help challenge stereotypes and inspire younger players to pursue lacrosse, demonstrating that talent and dedication are the true measures of success in the sport. Gross says, “It’s important for black lacrosse players to come back to their community and give back to give perspective to players. I think that it helps younger players see a path to college athletics."

Growth of lacrosse in the school system further exposes the sport to more eyes. In 2010, the number of boys and girls in high school lacrosse was approximately 170,000. In 2020, that number increased to approximately 213,000 largely due to increased interest in the black community. 

This also consequently led to the increased number of black players at the collegiate level. The game is becoming more inclusive with the numbers increasing every year. In 2022, there were 159 Black athletes on NCAA Division I men's lacrosse teams, which was a 120% increase from 2021. In 2023, that number increased to 168 players across 75 programs, with an average of 2.24 players per school, and that number stayed steady through 2024.

Gross attributes his success to his parents staying married. Family foundation is important, especially for a race that has seen the highest rate of single-parent households in America since the 1990s per the census. Gross is grateful for his father, Rick, who was a great athlete at Albert Einstein High School in Kensington, Maryland. He played football collegiately at Wesley College his freshman year before transferring to Maryland for academics. He is now a high school teacher, while still putting his family first and it is this which inspires Gross to do his best in everything no matter the situation. It drives him to outwork everyone who doubts he could play whether it is practicing stick skills or becoming a role model for others that come after him. 

Gross never wanted anyone to say to him that he did not “give everything he had.” He said, "You can teach technique and other aspects of the game through practice. Work ethic is something you cannot teach." Late Laker legend Kobe Bryant said he never wanted to leave a game thinking he could have done more. Some guys just have the drive to go harder than anyone else on the field, and Gross, Agwamba and Robinson all have that drive, that hunger, that passion for leaving it all out there. 

Further explanations as to why lacrosse is growing so fast among the Black community can be compared to the growth of the NFL post-1950s. Initially, football was dismissed as an inferior activity that some of your friends would make fun of you for playing. However, as time went on, the sport generally gained more attention because players in the league would come and promote the sport to younger kids in their hometown area. 

Similar to the NFL, players such as Gross come back to their communities and help run camps to promote the sport for kids of color. 

TV deals with CBS, Fox and ESPN are helping the collegiate and professional levels gain more nationwide attention, similar to what happened to the NFL. The amount of players at every level began to increase, similar to what is now happening with the amount of Black lacrosse players. As a result, more people gained interest, which led to more revenue and national attention. We are seeing this happen at all the levels of the sport and it will only continue to grow with the help of the right social media outlets as well. 

Agwamba always is making sure everyone on his team is good on and off the field, saying, “The greatest thing you can do is not individual work, but go find a small group of friends because you’re going to need someone to back you for support.” Being a minority lacrosse player that had to lean on others to find his way, Agwamba is a prime example of what happens when you have a dream and outwork everyone to make it to the top. It is that type of guy who inspires the younger youth to partake in the sport and help it grow.

As young Black athletes continue to break barriers and showcase their skills on the field, they not only elevate the game but also inspire the next generation of players to see lacrosse as a sport for everyone. By amplifying diverse voices and building stronger community connections, Maryland is shaping the future of lacrosse—one where every player, regardless of background, has the opportunity to thrive. The growth of Black lacrosse is not just good for the sport; it’s vital for its continued evolution, ensuring that lacrosse becomes a game that truly represents all athletes who love it.