Taylor Cummings is a three-time Tewaaraton winner, a member of Team USA, the inaugural Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse champion and the head coach at McDonogh (Md.). “Taylor’s Takes” is presented by Gait Lacrosse. Be legendary.
I’m the first to admit that I’ve been less than satisfied with the number and quality of women’s lacrosse games being televised and streamed over the years. It’s an issue that is near and dear to my heart because I know first-hand the work that these athletes put in to be great at their craft.
I believe wholeheartedly that their talents deserve to be showcased every game day and know of many others who feel the same.
In years past, I would dread the day that ESPN would announce the men’s and women’s televised games, as the number of women’s games were always half of the men’s. But this season, it finally feels like ESPN, BTN and other networks have heard our outcries because we have never-before-seen access to games, both televised and streamed.
The first weekend of the 2022 women’s lacrosse season had it all — prime time games, huge upsets and outstanding individual performances — all of which we were able to watch and access across various TV channels and streaming devices. At one point in the weekend, I had four different games occupying my computer screen and another game playing on TV because there were so many happening at the same time for the world to see!
What a welcome problem to have — that there was just too much lacrosse to watch at once.
It’s been too many years in the making, but now that we finally have this opportunity, we need to take full advantage. Watch the games. Stream the games from your laptop, even if you can’t watch until later. Have viewing parties with your teammates and encourage non-lacrosse playing friends to watch. If we all do our part and get the views that we need, the sky is the limit for our sport. The little girl in me is screaming with joy and the adult in me is hopeful that our sport continues to move in this right direction.
With so much lacrosse this weekend, there were many outstanding performances I’d like to highlight. Some are from individual players, others from specific sides of the ball and entire teams.
Howard University players and coaches perform well on the field in the face of racist comments and threats.
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On a weekend that should have been full of nothing but excitement, Howard University players, coaches and staff not only had to compete on the field for the first time but face racist comments and threats while doing so. Being subject to this horrible behavior is a current reality for Black athletes and lacrosse players and is something that we as a lacrosse community need to eliminate immediately. This sport is for everyone, and we all need to do our part to make sure that every player, coach, fan, parent, referee and person feels welcome. While enduring such unwarranted hate from the stands, the Bison were able to kick off their inaugural season with two impressive games and saw unrelenting success on the offensive end from midfielder Josie Mallory, who tallied four goals, and Sydney Saunders who added three assists. Although this team has many young players, there’s an obvious passion for the game and belief in one another that will help the Bison continue to improve throughout the season. I’m confident that there is plenty more exciting lacrosse to come from this year’s Howard team.
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For more on the incident, head here.