The issue of police brutality hit even closer to campus after Jacob Blake was killed in Kenosha, Wisc., on Aug. 23, just 40 miles away from Milwaukee. Marquette men’s lacrosse decided on Sept. 4 to join the rest of the athletics department in a one-mile march to spread awareness for racial injustice.
Washington was still at home in the suburbs of Minneapolis. Burt-Murray, in Atlanta, FaceTimed assistant coach Jacob Richard during the march so he could experience it from home.
Schmid helped organize the march along with members of Marquette’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, for which he serves as president. Although he hadn’t made it to campus for the fall, he watched teammates and coaches march and fellow student-athletes join in along the route.
“Our teammates are going through something that we can’t fully understand because as a white male in America, I don’t have to worry about the same things that they have to,” he said. “But we’re trying to learn and we’re having those conversations.”
In Schmid’s absence, his teammate Jacob Hallam addressed the crowd of hundreds of Golden Eagles’ athletes.
“Change may not be tomorrow. It may not be in a week. But that doesn’t mean it’s not possible,” he said. “Today marks our path to leaving Marquette and Milwaukee a better place than we found it.”
Stimmel walked alongside members of the program he’s led for over a year. This time of year, he was supposed to be preparing his team for a fall ball slate that usually includes a handful of scrimmages. Just like everyone in 2020, he’s had to adjust his expectations to fit the climate.
Even with the absence of lacrosse in its physical form, Marquette’s men’s program continued to build its team chemistry. The Silent March in September was another chance for the Golden Eagles to continue growing, and Stimmel was filled with pride.
“There are moments as a coach that you can look back on in your career and be proud of, and that’s one of the proudest moments to date,” he said. “To have one of our players stand up and speak from his heart and stand up for what is right, that’s a great thing. Hearing these guys talk about this, it gives me hope. You get the feeling that they’re hungry for change. I truly believe this is a generation to bring about long-lasting change.”
In addition to speaking out on social issues, Schmid and Cox helped lead an effort to get the entire team registered to vote. It took a few Zoom calls with teammates for the men’s lacrosse program to be one of four Marquette athletic teams to be 100 percent registered as of last week.
As much as the Marquette men’s lacrosse team has answered the call on and off the field this fall, the focus will soon shift toward a potential 2021 season — where Marquette hopes to find its spot in the thick of the Big East title race.
Getting back on the field and putting on the Golden Eagles’ jersey once again could make this world feel a little closer to normal. However, the men in this program, and their head coach, won’t forget the challenges and triumphs of 2020.
The bonds this team created will exist with or without the game.