Duke Makes Diversity a Program-Wide Priority

Duke senior Kristina Foreman was very aware of the lack of diversity surrounding her on the softball field before she got to college. 

“I was usually the only Black girl on my team or the only girl of color on my team,” said Foreman, a Tampa, Fla., native. “But coming to Duke, I have five other Black girls and Hispanic and Latina girls. I realized everything I was missing out on and the experiences of being around people who got me and understood me and what I go through in life. It’s just so amazing to have that here.”

As one of the few Black female head coaches in college softball, Duke’s Marissa Young realizes her role entails more than the average coach. She feels a responsibility to help grow the pipeline of minorities involved in the sport.

In building the Duke program from scratch since 2018, Young has made diversity a priority. She recruits players from all backgrounds and fills her coaching staff in the same fashion.

“It is very intentional for me,” Young said. “I have been blessed to sit in the seat I am in, and having been a player where I was only one or two minorities on a team, I know what that feels like. I think that I am blessed to be in a situation where I can open doors for other young girls that look like me.”

February is Black History Month, but the Blue Devils engage in a year-round education of important societal issues. 

Young and Foreman spoke at a virtual MLK Unity Rally for Duke Athletics last month that was organized by Young to honor the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

After the murder of George Floyd in 2020 sparked rallies and pushed racial inequality to the forefront of the American consciousness, the Blue Devils arranged team meetings and other activities to help educate others.

“Coach gave the Black girls on the team the platform to share what we needed to share,” Foreman said. “She gave us the opportunity to let our other white teammates know what we were going through and give them an understanding of how it all impacted us.”

Young and her staff are not afraid to take chances on some players that may get overlooked in recruiting.

“I take a lot of pride in that,” Young said. “I have heard so many times over the years about kids are raw or you are taking a risk or it is not a slam dunk thing to do and I have tried to see past the limitations and road blocks or the hurdles and think about what an opportunity can do for a young woman and how it could impact them and help them grow and reach their potential.”

Jazmine Moreno is a shining example. Young recruited Moreno out of Elk Grove, Calif., to be one of the inaugural players in program history.

“She was a Hispanic minority and a 5-foot-2 catcher that everybody told was too small to be a catcher at the Division I level,” Young said. “At one point, she was leading the country in throwing runners out. To me, that is just a sense of pride that we believed in her and gave her a chance and look at what she was able to do.”

Moreno graduated from Duke last year with two degrees and is now pursuing a doctorate in physical therapy at Tufts University.

“I am a first-generation college student, so it was huge for me to even go to Duke and get a softball scholarship and live out there on my own,” Moreno said. “Duke is a very diverse university and I didn’t really anticipate that. I thought it was mainly white people, but there were so many different races and different beliefs. It was really cool and really nice to experience that.”

Throughout her Duke career, Moreno appreciated all the meetings and workshops Young created to help build team culture. She remembers a “Privilege Walk” activity being particularly enlightening.

“It was Coach’s way of saying you don’t really know everyone’s background or where they were coming from,” Moreno said. “Our team was really diverse and from all over the place so kids were shocked by some of the answers. But Coach really made it a point that it doesn’t matter your background, we love everyone and support everyone.”

Moreno never felt intimidated or isolated while playing for Duke. She was empowered by Young to be herself and encouraged to express her opinions.

“She was really good about making it a safe space where if you were going through a hard time at home or in life and you couldn’t talk to your parents, she always had an open ear,” Moreno said. “She genuinely wanted to know what was going on and make sure everyone was OK. She saw you as more than a player. She cared about you as a person.”

Young formed her worldview of leading a college program from her own life experiences and studying the work of others. The one-time aspiring lawyer believes in the value of college athletics and how it can resonate far beyond the field.

“Diversity changes lives and changes generations,” said Young, an All-American pitcher at Michigan. “Diversity makes us all better in every facet – in business, in our communities and definitely on a softball team. I want to do as much as I can to foster that here at Duke.”

Foreman plans to attend medical school and become a surgeon. Her perspective has broadened since arriving at Duke and her life has been enriched by her college experience.

She hopes to be as intentional about diversity in her future career as Young has been while guiding the Blue Devils.

“Coach Young being a Black woman in the sport of softball was definitely a selling point for me to come to Duke,” Foreman said. “I am able to see myself in her as my role model. That has been really cool.”