Syracuse, N.Y. -- Brackton Bowler tried to soak in everything during his college recruiting visits, and on one such tour a very particular variable of note caught his eye as he walked around the school.
The senior lacrosse player from CBA observed there was hardly anyone who looked like him.
And by that assessment, he meant students and players of diverse ethnic backgrounds. Bowler himself is bi-racial, with a white mother and Black father.
“I don’t want to say that was a horrible thing. For me, I felt almost kind of like I stuck out, and it was an uncomfortable feeling I guess,” said Bowler, who didn’t want to identify the college. “I’m very proud of my heritage, just my family in general. I’m comfortable knowing that there’s not many other people like me. But when I was going to choose a school I wanted something that I knew would be comfortable for me. Just the fact that there wasn’t really many people like me who looked like me or kind of had the same experience as me, I just couldn’t figure out how to feel comfortable in that way.”
Bowler weighed several factors when pondering his college options, so the ethnicity vibe from that one school wasn’t necessarily decisive. But it did make him more in tune to the bigger picture at stake, a long thought process that culminated in him signing a letter of intent earlier this month to play at traditional powerhouse John Hopkins.
“It was kind of just the culture there. It’s obviously one of the most admirable schools in college lacrosse,” Bowler said.
Bowler, a close defender/long stick middie, originally committed to Binghamton but then changed his mind because he wanted to try a landing spot further from home. He became interested in JHU when new head coach Peter Milliman, who expressed interest in Bowler when he coached at Cornell, got in touch with him.
Bowler, who also plays hockey at CBA, will head to Johns Hopkins embracing a role that reaches far beyond that of an athlete. Whenever possible, he wants to be a blaring example that lacrosse is a sport for everyone.
“To me I think it’s actually really important. I think one of the most effective ways to actually do that is not to just stand up on a pedestal and say all this and that,” he said. “You want to show people that you can be a great hockey or lacrosse player and you don’t have to worry about the color of your skin or your hair. I just want to show people that no matter what I am, who I am or what I say, I’m just going to be a good lacrosse player, good hockey player. And I hope to show that to anyone else that may be in the same situation as me.”
Bowler has the chance for an intriguing showcase through which to share that message. While playing at a tournament during the summer before his freshman year at CBA, he caught the eye of a representative from the Nation United lacrosse program.
That group fields a variety of teams at different levels across the country to showcase diversity in the sport. The representative asked Bowler if he’d be interested in joining the group.
“At first I was kind of shocked. I was like, I’ve never heard of something like this done before,” Bowler said. “A lacrosse team that’s all minority players? Then I guess I thought about it more, I said wow, that’s actually really a good idea. I kind of want to look into this more.”
Bowler’s schedule precluded a chance to compete in the program until this winter. He was invited to play in a national tournament next month in California, but that was postponed by the coronavirus.
Bowler said he hopes to play with the team if the tournament is rescheduled for the spring or summer.
“I’m disappointed, but with most things I haven’t had my hopes up too high when it came to sports and lacrosse. I’m just excited for the chance to play for them in the future,” he said.
Even if the opportunity to play for Nation United remains up in the air, Bowler appreciates that his choice of Johns Hopkins gives him a wide-open window to spread and broaden his perspective at the Division I level.
“Of course in college people come around from all over, everyone’s going to have different experiences and different ideas of diversity in lacrosse. I want to be able to show my idea of diversity in lacrosse that we are all lacrosse players and it doesn’t matter really what we look like,” he said. “We’re all going to be able to play on the same team. We’re all the same lacrosse players. They just want to play on a high level and enjoy the game.”
Lindsay Kramer is a reporter for the Syracuse Post-Standard and syracuse.com. Got a comment or idea for a story? He can be reached via email at LKramer@Syracuse.com.
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