Despite much progress, university wokeness is not dead. Syracuse University effectively accusing its men’s lacrosse team of glorifying genocide is proof positive of that.

The Syracuse men’s lacrosse team is arguably the best sports program at the university right now, and the team’s defensive coordinator introduced a new mantra to keep the success going: “Burn the boats.” You may recognize this as a popular metaphor that essentially means that there is no going back. It is based on Hernan Cortes burning the ships of his men upon landing in Mexico, leaving the Spanish no possibility of retreating from their conquest. It’s a common metaphor, frequently used by other sports teams, such as the 2012-13 Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL.