08/26/2023
Recruited athletes vs. legacy: Let’s not throw the baby out w/the bathwater 💦
When folks equate recruited athletes at Ivy Leagues w/legacy admissions and rail against both (understandably given the recent Supreme Court ruling against affirmative action admissions at colleges and universities) I really don’t think they have the Issas of America in mind.
This young man had to work 5x as hard as his classmates from the time he was in grade school all through middle and upper school, waking up as early as 4am to do homework or study for tests and exams.
This boy right here had zero social life b/c after school was intensive training at an elite soccer academy all the way across town until 9pm or 10pm. Weekends were competitive games all across the region and then there were days or even weeks off for tournaments around the country as well as outside - Spain, Mexico, Cayman Islands, Canada just to name a few.
These travel situations may sound exciting and exotic but the reality was a grueling, unforgiving schedule for a teenager (and broke soccer mom 😓) who had to work even harder and get fewer hours of sleep to make up for missed tests or assignments.
With all that academic workload and athletic training Issa maintained a 4.0 GPA and led the strings orchestra as first chair violinist at his all boys prep school. But with his grades alone, high standardized tests results and musical proficiency, I don’t know that he would have been admitted to Princeton - everyone who applies has above 4.0, top SAT scores and incredible extracurriculars!!
However as a nationally ranked player at DC United Academy, Issa was sought after by Stanford, Columbia, Duke, Wake Forest and other elite schools including Princeton (he actually chose Princeton over the sunshine of Palo Alto).
Certainly, there are some sports - Lacrosse, Water Polo, rowing etc - that seem clearly reserved for the privileged u know who few. But soccer, football, basketball etc. have been incredible pathways for athletically gifted high achieving minority students especially from low-income families to matriculate at top tier universities in the U.S.
So, I say all this to advise my African and African-American brothers and sisters to do all u can to encourage ur budding student athletes. Nurture their dreams even if it means temporarily sacrificing urs. Time is not on our side lest the Supreme Court decides to also upend this rare pathway for our exceptional kids to graduate among the top 1% of college students in the world!!
