I’ve had the experience of IMs making matters worse. I won’t go into details, but attending the IM finals between an all white and all black team still ranks among the scariest experiences of my life.
IMs only work when you can’t choose the team you belong to. They work at Harvard, Yale, Nortre Dame and other schools where you have to play for your integrated house, dorm, or residential college. They do not work when you get a group of “friends” together to play.Because…sadly…all too often the teams are segregated.
I think the OP is right though. The way to attack racism is to have students get to know each other. A study at Berkely years ago showed that the two least bigoted groups on campus were varsity athletes and musicians who belonged to the symphony orchestra. They had leaned to work together.
Sports promote racial understanding when the teams are integrated. The unfortunate reality is that when students choose their own teams they often aren’t.