Another Athlete's Georgetown Experience (#2)

I want to thank Chelsea for starting this blog, and opening up a discussion on the very important topic of race. I think that race is something we need to become more comfortable talking about and discussing in a productive manner and Chelsea’s blog post has really opened up a safe platform for us to do that.

I am a current member of the Georgetown track and field team. A few members of our team are trying to frame the culture and experience of the entire team and I believe that is unjust. While everyone is entitled to their own opinion and experience, their views are not reflective of the culture and atmosphere I have experienced during my time on the team. I feel that it is only fair that I have an opportunity to share my experience as well.

I have had an overwhelmingly positive experience on this team. It has not been without struggle, there have been tough races, tough workouts, stressful days of school, hard weeks- and hard years. But here I am today, overcoming these obstacles that everyone faces at some point in their time at Georgetown.  The reason I was always able to succeed and push through when things seemed impossible or nothing was going my way, was because of my teammates and coaches.

My teammates have become my family. They understand me better than I understand myself at times. The culture of our team is something I am extremely proud of. We are a hardworking group of girls with the like mindset of trying to make ourselves the best version of ourselves we can possibly be; whether that's in racing or in life. We hold each other accountable for maintaining this culture and we have held various meetings throughout the year to discuss it. It’s something we constantly work on and try to improve. Without this culture we would never be a successful team.

Our coaches also hold us to a standard when it comes to team culture. They expect everyone to have a positive attitude and strong work ethic- without these two traits our culture would be lost. Our coaches not only try to make us better runners, but they care a lot about making us better people too. Coach Mike has been one of the most amazing, supportive, and selfless people I have ever met. I can whole-heartedly say he cares more about each member of this team as a person than he does as a runner. This applies to every member of our team regardless of race. Many people don’t know that Coach Mike spent a few years of his life working in the inner city of DC. He is not someone unfamiliar with diversity or the challenges it brings; on the contrary, he is one of the most sensitive people I have ever met with regards to racial issues. It hurts me deeply to see these accusations being made about a man that I know cares so deeply about each of his athletes. Coach Mike puts his personal life on hold to be there for us whenever we need him. He is someone I greatly respect and fully trust as my coach.

Everyday I am so thankful and gracious for the opportunity I have been given to run at Georgetown. I understand that being on this team is a privilege, and that is not something I take lightly. Every time I put on that uniform it’s special, I am representing something greater than myself and there is no greater feeling than that.

I hope people will take the time to read and listen to other perspectives of Georgetown. There are a lot of people out there who have had nothing but the most positive experience being on this team and they would do anything to defend it. It’s a shame that racism is being used in this situation when our country is full of real stories of racism everyday. This is the story of an athlete who was asked to leave the team for reasons completely unrelated to race. It happens on college teams around the country in every sport all the time. The men’s and women’s track team has had some amazing accomplishments in the past few years and it’s a shame to see all the hard work and dedication overshadowed by some negative blog posts. I hope that telling my side of the story can help bring some positive light back to a program the truly means so much to me.

Thank you for your time.