5 days ago
Matt Vautour: In protesting volleyball player's detainment, Milford students show more humanity than ICE
MILFORD — As the Milford boys volleyball team lined up numerically on the end line before Tuesday's MIAA Division I Tournament game against Taunton, they left a space in the middle.
The gap was between No. 9 Jason Comisky and No. 11 Eston Lebron, an acknowledgement that Marcelo Gomes, usually No. 10, was missing.
A week ago, Gomes wasn't famous. He was a well-liked honor student, a drummer in the MHS band and an outside hitter on the Scarlet Hawks volleyball team that was eyeing a deep run in the postseason.
But on Saturday, Gomes, who was born in Brazil, but has lived in Milford since he was 5 years old, was stopped and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They were looking for his father, whose car Gomes was driving to volleyball practice.
But rather than admit their net hadn't hauled the intended fish, the ICE agents padded their stats and basically kidnapped a teenager and made Gomes a flashpoint in a polarizing national debate.
Addressing immigration problems humanely in the United States requires a careful scalpel. But, lacking that patience, ICE has plowed ahead with a chainsaw. Milford was just the latest community left with a scar.
So Gomes didn't drum in the band at graduation on Sunday or the march to the town hall afterward when Milford students and residents gathered to protest his situation.
He wasn't in school on Monday when his friends and schoolmates walked out of class in a demonstration against the cruelty of his detainment and he wasn't between Comisky and Lebron on Tuesday night.
But still, his presence was everywhere on Tuesday. Marcelo Gomes was on the minds of everyone at Milford High School as the Scarlet Hawks prepared to play their first game without him.
The largest volleyball crowd long-time Athletic Director Peter Boucher has seen in 12 years at the school, not only filled the seats, but spilled over into the corners where many people stood.
About 80 percent of that crowd wore white T-shirts. Just three days after Gomes' detainment shocked the Central Massachusetts town where the Mass. Pike meets 495, people mobilized into countless shirt-making gatherings. The result was hundreds of homemade white tops, with different messages in different colors. They included:
'Free Marcelo' surrounded by a heart
'A Kid not a Criminal'
'Jesus told us to love your neighbor'
'It's too warm for ICE'
There were signs on the walls and in the crowd. The quality ranged from Sharpie-on-posterboard to a rush order created with pictures at a print shop.
Between the first and second games, someone arrived with a roll of newly minted 'Free Marcelo' stickers that were quickly passed around the bleachers.
A basket of yellow ribbons greeted visitors at the entrance for anyone to take and wear in solidarity.
When Taunton arrived, its players and even some of their parents were in their own 'Free Marcelo,' T-shirts. Like Milford, Taunton is a town that has been enriched by its immigrant population and two of the Tigers players have been club teammates with Gomes. When they learned what Milford was doing, they wanted to show support.
'One of our players, Ike Asiengnbunam, was really emotional because he'd played with him in club,' Taunton coach Toby Chaperon said. 'He and Danny Freitas really spear-headed doing the shirts. Coming from the players makes it that much more special.'
The Milford crowd greeted them with an appreciative ovation.
They weren't the only rivals in the building. Members of the Marlborough and Nipmuc boys volleyball squads came in large groups and Boucher thought several Bellingham players were in attendance, too.
Before the starting lineups, Boucher took the microphone and both praised the Milford students for channeling their energy into making their voices heard and encouraged them to continue to do so with the same maturity that had guided them so far.
'I'm spectacularly proud of how peacefully and professionally we've let the world know that we love Marcelo and we want and expect him to be returned home,' he said.
It was a smart announcement to make, but their actions from the start of warmups to the end of the game indicated it was probably unnecessary.
Anger would have been understandable. This game and this tournament should have been remembered for the terrific volleyball, one last time for this group together before the seniors move on and the rest of the team scatters for the summer. Instead, they tried to play a volleyball game through fear and worry that no kids should have to experience.
But there were no middle fingers. No words of rage on the back of their shirts. They stood respectfully through the national anthem.
Just days after Todd Lyons, acting director of ICE, was sarcastic and smug in his press conference defending Gomes' detainment, the Milford students showed a level of class that gave reason to hope that the nation's future leaders might have more humanity than the current ones.
There were signs throughout the crowd, many with his picture, all imploring the government to send their friend home.
If Gomes is anything like the people supporting him, the country is probably a better place with him in it.
Early on, the Scarlet Hawks looked like they might put together an inspirational win on an emotional night. They came from behind to win the first game and were points away from a commanding 2-0 lead after Game Two, but Taunton rallied to knot the match at 1-1 and scored the first five points of Game Three.
Maybe it was the humidity of the filled gymnasium. Maybe it was toll of the last few days catching up with them. Or maybe it was just some terrific play by Taunton, whose level of play increased with its momentum.
Either way, Milford couldn't keep up and fell 3-1.
'We didn't get the win tonight, but we played with him in mind,' Comisky said. 'His absence was really known. You could really feel it.'
Season-ending losses are always emotional, but the Scarlet Hawks players stayed on the floor for a long time, huddling, hugging and clinging to a team that has become a support group in recent days.
Milford coach Andrew Mainini was disappointed but proud of the way his team rose to the moment despite the result.
The town remains hopeful that after appearing before an immigration judge that Gomes will come home.
Mainini wanted the chance to tell him about how the town came together for him.
'I want him to see pictures and to see how many people in the community showed up,' Mainini said. 'Milford showed up for volleyball, but this wasn't for Milford, this was for Marcelo. I want him to know he's loved and that this was for him.'
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Read the original article on MassLive.
