This Friday, March 7th, the men’s and women’s varsity lacrosse programs played Athens Drive in a game dedicated to the One Love Foundation. This foundation serves the purpose of ending relationship violence by activating, educating, and empowering individuals in a movement for change. By distinguishing between healthy and unhealthy behaviors, apparent throughout all our relationships, we can all learn to love better.
This is the third annual One Love Lacrosse Dedication Game held for Green Level and Athens Drive. The athletes partake in a workshop the weekend prior to understand not only what but who they are playing for.
The One Love Foundation was founded on behalf of Yeardley Love, a women’s lacrosse player at the University of Virginia who lost her life tragically just 3 weeks shy of graduation by her ex-boyfriend, a man who claimed he loved her. Her mother, Sharon Love, wanted to ensure what happened to her daughter happened to no one else.
She was described as both the heart and soul of the team. Her teammates emphasized that to know her was truly, to love her. The loss of her life was felt throughout the entire campus. One Love club advisor, April Mack, was an athlete at the University of Virginia at the same time as Yeardley. She was present at the time Yeardley’s life was taken from her.
Upon interviewing April Mack, she conveys, “I was a first year at the University of Virginia when the tragic loss of Yeardly Love was announced. It is a day I won’t forget. It seemed like the University stopped in its tracks – everything seemed so quiet and like it moved in slow motion.”
She reckons how the tragedy has molded her as an educator, an athlete, and a human. “The loss of Yeardly Love has made me much more aware of how we need to look out for each other and our friends. If we see someone in a contentious relationship or friendship, being the person to speak up and offer support is such a huge step that can really help other people. We need to be good to ourselves and to each other. Every human deserves to live a happy life without being treated poorly by others.”
One Love exercises the significance of understanding that we all deserve relationships that make us feel good and that are healthy. This act of community involvement allows us to take time to reflect on our own relationships, our teammates, and our closest friends, ensuring that they are engaging in healthy conversations centered around an assortment of relationships.
The University of North Carolina hosted a dedication game against the University of Virginia on Saturday, March 8th. This tradition has been embedded in their team culture. Curious about how the athletes prepare for this game, as well as if it compares similarly to the teams of Athens Drive and Green Level, I reached out to UNC women’s lacrosse assistant coach Marie McCool.
As previously highlighted, the men’s and women’s teams of Athens Drive and Green Level participate in a workshop the weekend prior to ensure they all know the cause for which they are playing. The day of the game, they wear shirts advertising the One Love Foundation, in order to strike awareness throughout the walls of the school. They will wear these specific shirts during their warmup as well. I have also taken the liberty of speaking prior to the game to introduce new individuals to the One Love Foundation.
In preparing the UNC women’s lacrosse athletes for this specific type of game, McCool exercises that the UNC athletes, too, customize shirts to wear prior to the game and ensure each athlete is adequately enlightened to the mission of One Love. Players set aside time to craft a video to be projected to the fans on the day of the game and are offered a place to donate to the foundation. Competing in a dedication game against the university that Yeardley attended is all the more impactful in spreading awareness.
The women’s lacrosse team discloses, “By raising awareness and education about unhealthy relationships, the One Love Foundation has helped hundreds of people and will continue to help so many more.”
Outreach events, such as dedication games both at the secondary and collegiate level, aid in giving individuals the tools and resources they need to acknowledge signs of healthy and unhealthy behaviors present throughout vast types of relationships. Both the Green Level One Love Dedication game and the UNC women’s lacrosse One Love dedication game aren’t about lacrosse at all. By growing the One Love Foundation and its inherent goal, we can all learn to love better and avoid the fate of Yeardley Love while actively taking steps as a community to better ourselves, starting with our loving habits.
To hear the UNC women’s lacrosse team’s message from the dedication game, visit this link.
