African American athletes have an invisible weight on their shoulders, carrying the difficulty of the expectations of a Black athlete.

Coppell track and field coach Eric Hill upholds expectations across all races.

“I don’t differentiate between expectations. I’m not going to say to the African American student, ‘I expect this’ and then to the Caucasian student, ‘I expect this.’ I expect the same from both,” Hill said.

As sports have progressed, Black athletes are praised for typical dynamics of being athletic: speed, strength and talent. From the larger picture, part of their experiences are often ignored.

“As we passed through time, people came to understand that they are athletic, they can run and throw, but they also have a brain,” Hill said. “That is the one thing that may get left off the application of a Black athlete: they have the ability to think and they’re just as smart as their counterparts. I think that’s the one thing that gets ignored out of anything else.”

Coppell junior guard Lauren VanPelt thinks Black athletes will be held at a higher standard because a lot of people who succeed in athletics are the Black population. 

“As a Black athlete, many assume that all I do is rely on natural talents rather than hard work, discipline and intelligence,” VanPelt said. “At times, it is frustrating because all of the efforts I put in are ignored instead of being recognized by the hard work that goes into the highlights they see. Sometimes I do feel reduced to just being a basketball player rather than a high school student who also has other ambitions outside of my sport.”

Coppell senior Sibu Socks has faced a number of challenges as a Black athlete and has brought a voice to the stereotypes.

“From my experience, keep your composure and learn how to handle adversity,” Socks said. “There’s going to be ups and downs in everything, but how you reacted with the future holds.”

Coppell junior Taliah Ellis finds the behind the scenes of being a Black athlete is an opaque reality, especially with her father, Greg Ellis, playing in the NFL.

“I feel like people see the performance on the court, but they don’t see the emotional weight of knowing that one bad game can change how I view myself and how others view me,” Ellis said. “Sometimes if I make a mistake, it can feel like they’re more scrutinized or tied to assumptions about my attitude or work ethic. There is less room for grace and I need to be perfect just to be seen as a good athlete.”

Coppell senior Zander Montgomery finds that a sport that is not primarily Black has its challenges and lives the reality of being a minority in athletics.

“Baseball is majority white, Black people are not typically considered to be ‘playing baseball’ and the percentage of Black athletes playing baseball is around 6%,” Montgomery said. “I feel like we are expected to do more and be above average, and it’s impacted me because I feel like I have had to put in a lot more work and time to just get playing time on the field at all.”

Coppell junior Jaden Bibbs has faced pressure tied to perception and expectation, but has never let that counteract his ability.

“Being a Black athlete, it does put more pressure on you. When we played Hebron and I got scored on they said ‘you have all these D1 offers but y’all aren’t even good,” Bibbs said. “I do take it personally, but I want them to remember me for being the coldest person they’ll ever play.”

Coppell freshman Abigail Thompson is surrounded by people who have high expectations, and that has influenced her as she has grown throughout the years.

“In life, I was always taught to try my best no matter what,” Thompson said. “Even if it feels like nothing would work or it’s impossible, there’s always something to make it happen, you just have to work for it.” 

Coppell senior Justice Ihezie has had to learn to self regulate his reactions and anger due to microaggressions on the field. 

“I feel like there’s a way you’ve got to carry yourself, and you need to show good character on and off the field,” Ihezie said. “In soccer especially, you need to show that you belong in your position.” 

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