Chris Donovan

In Flint, High School Football Is No Game 

Chris Donovan / The New York Times

December 1, 2017

“Those who stay will be champions,” reads the sign above the Flint Jaguars locker room.

The Flint Jaguars are the last high school football team left in Flint, Michigan.

The city has dealt with an auto industry crash, a housing crisis, a water crisis, and a population exodus that saw it lose almost half its citizens. The city is also known for producing an exceptional number of professional athletes for its size.

The city of nearly 100,000 people has a child poverty rate of 58% according to the Flint Journal, the highest in America. But a kid from Flint will likely tell you that the worst part of growing up in Vehicle City is Flint being seen as a bad place.

Flintstones are a proud people, but they have a hard time shaking their reputation.

"I'm proud to wear ‘Flint’ across my chest,” said Jaguars player Ray Lee during an away game in Bay City, a predominantly white community. "But you can tell they’re nervous around us. They see us with our hats on backwards and our pants sagging and they think we’re just a bunch of thugs. It don’t matter if we’re the nicest gentlemen they ever met, they look at us different.”