Players Coalition and the Black Lacrosse Alliance announced today a formal partnership and consolidated effort to pursue their overlapping humanitarian and educational social justice missions. These organizations represent player-founded and player-driven efforts to promote social justice and racial equality through advocacy, awareness, education and a shared allocation of resources.
With the addition of Black Lacrosse Alliance, Players Coalition now has representation and formalized partnerships with six professional sports leagues. Earlier this summer, Black Players for Change (MLS) announced its partnership with the organization.
“I am excited for Black Lacrosse Alliance to partner with Players Coalition to amplify our advocacy for racial equality across our leagues,” says Players Coalition Co-Founder, Anquan Boldin. “Together, we can work towards breaking down these systemic barriers across not just our professional leagues, but our communities.”
“We could not be more excited to have the support of Players Coalition and to formally announce our partnership,” says Jules Heningburg, co-founder of the Black Lacrosse Alliance.
The Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) players originally announced the formation of the Black Lacrosse Alliance heading into the Championship Series “Bubble” that began on July 25 and ended August 9.
We are the Black players of the Premier Lacrosse League. We have united as one, as a beacon of hope, to amplify our voices and facilitate change in our sport and beyond. pic.twitter.com/Kntog9wZuQ
— Black Lacrosse Alliance (@BLAlliance_) July 17, 2020
Their mission focuses not only on human rights and racial equality, but also on the creation of equal opportunity and access for Black and minority players in the game of lacrosse.
“Through this partnership, we believe we can make impactful changes in the BIPOC community and improve racial inequality across the nation,” elaborates Heningburg. “Ultimately, we hope these improvements, over time, can really generate more equal access to Lacrosse and allow BIPOC to flourish in everything the sport has to offer. ”
The partnership will begin immediately and all parties involved have already begun to coalesce and share resources. Players from both coalitions came together earlier this month, participating in the Players Coalition and Cafe Momentum virtual dinner series to connect with Dallas teens who have turned their lives around following juvenile detention sentences. Players Coalition will continue to provide access for all PLL players to the collaborative resources, programming, structure and work streams that Players Coalition has diligently worked to develop and implement since its formation by Boldin and Co-Founder Malcolm Jenkins in 2017.
For more information on Players Coalition, please visit www.players-coalition.org/ and follow on Instagram (@playerscoalition) and Twitter (@playercoalition). For more information on Black Lacrosse Alliance, follow @blacklacrossealliance on Instagram and @BLAlliance_ on Twitter.
About Players Coalition
Players Coalition is structured as an independent 501(c)(3) (charity) and 501(c)(4) (advocacy) organization, working with professional athletes, coaches and owners across leagues to improve social justice and racial equality in our country.
About Black Lacrosse Alliance
The Black Lacrosse Alliance is an organization consisting of the current black players competing in the Premier Lacrosse League, working to bridge the racial equality gap that exists in the sport and society. BLA strives to be a beacon of hope for the next generation of players in lacrosse and works to amplify the voices and efforts of those working nationwide to improving the sport.