Black and Indigenous players stand at midfield during MLL season
The four black MLL players, known as the “MLL Four,” made their voices heard as well by standing at midfield during the national anthem before MLL games. Isaiah Davis-Allen said that he, Chad Toliver, Mark Ellis and Kris Alleyne chose that form of protest to draw attention to race issues, while also respecting the military who were honored around the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial stadium where the MLL season was taking place.
Later in the week, the indigenous players on the teams joined them in standing at midfield, with their protest also drawing attention to the initial exclusion of the Iroquois National team from the 2022 World Games. Overall, it was a powerful statement that extended beyond the sport of lacrosse.
Matt Guadet is mic’d up in his first PLL game (July 25, 2020)
The matchups between the Chrome and Chaos were quite entertaining in 2019, but nothing would compare to the teams’ season opener in the 2020 PLL Championship Series. Matt Gaudet, a rookie out of Yale, would make his pro debut against the team that had drafted then traded him just months prior.
Matt Gaudet made noise immediately, both with his play and his mouth, most famously trash talking Chaos goalie Blaze Riorden for most of the game. The PLL would mic him up for the rest of the second half and his relentless banter was met with controversy (just check the Twitter comments). Some saw the rookie’s trash talk as disrespectful and annoying, while others embraced it as funny and entertaining. Regardless of fans’ opinions, Gaudet’s performance made for can’t miss television.
