Black History Month Student-Athlete Feature: Softball’s Laila Sims

CHICAGO – Along with the worldwide recognition and celebration of Black Historical past Month, UChicago Athletics can be that includes a number of student-athletes all through February. Within the second installment of this sequence, hear from UChicago Softball’s Laila Sims as she discusses her experiences in a Q & A format.  

Sims is a second-year outfielder from Suwanee, Ga. and earned NFCA Scholar Athlete All-American honors in 2022. She performed in 28 video games and began 18 and was second on the staff with 13 steals.

What does Black Historical past imply to you? 

Black Historical past Month is a time to rejoice how far we have now come by remembering our historical past and recognizing the influence our achievements have had worldwide.  On the identical time, it serves as a reminder of the work that also must be executed to proceed uplifting the black group. 

What are a number of the struggles you may have confronted over time as an African-American?  

Rising up in a predominantly white group, I struggled with attempting to interrupt out of the bins folks put me in primarily based on my pores and skin shade. Over time, I started to simply accept that black persons are not a monolith. We have now various backgrounds and pursuits, and we aren’t outlined by the labels that society has placed on us. As I grew to become extra snug doing the issues that I liked, I additionally grew to become extra snug with my blackness and started to really feel much more related with the black group. 

As we rejoice Black Historical past Month, do you may have a favourite Black historic determine who evokes you?

One among my favourite black historic figures is Muhammad Ali, and I’m truly named after his daughter, Laila Ali. I’m impressed by how he was not afraid to face up for what he believed in regardless of the implications he could face.

Do you suppose athletes ought to use their platforms to handle social points? 

Sure, I believe that athletes ought to completely use their platforms to handle social points, not solely as athletes, but in addition as college students, pals, members of the family, and many others. Usually, the best change is that which extends over the shortest distance. The change which we will encourage in these round us, even when solely in a small group at first, can propagate to others and drive better outcomes.