January 13, 2019
Both fans and an announcer at a Philadelphia Wings lacrosse game made some pretty offensive comments toward a Native opponent on Saturday.
The player, 26-year-old forward Lyle Thompson from the Georgia Swarm, won the National Lacrosse League's MVP in 2017, and was the first overall pick in the NLL and MLL, according to Forbes. During college, he was the NCAA's all-time scorer in lacrosse.
Thompson, who is vocal about having grown up in the Onondaga Nation in New York, has also represented the Iroquois Nationals in international play, Deadspin reported. The forward wears his hair in a long braid, as does his brother and teammate, Miles Thompson, as a family tradition and as homage to his Native roots.
But Thompson tweeted after the game that Wings announcer Shawny Hill repeatedly said to "clip that ponytail," leading Philadelphia fans to chant they were going to "scalp" him.
2019 and the @NLLwings arena announcer saying “let’s snip the pony tail” to the whole arena and fans saying they’re going to scalp me.... damn Daniel.
— LYLE THOMPSON (@lyle4thompson) January 13, 2019
I know Philly takes pride in their ruthless fans but I didn’t know it was like that lol.... now I know.. just haven’t heard stuff like this since HS https://t.co/efODXZScRb
— LYLE THOMPSON (@lyle4thompson) January 13, 2019
Hill issued an apology on Sunday, calling his words "poorly chosen" and "not intended as racially motivated," which is weird because lacrosse was literally invented by Native Americans and the hairstyle is a nod to their tradition.
— Shawny Hill (@ShawnyHill) January 13, 2019
The team also issued a statement on Twitter on Hill's comments, saying they are taking steps to ensure this "this does not happen again."
— Philadelphia Wings (@NLLwings) January 13, 2019
The Swarm beat out the Wings in a 13-11 win.
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