Leo Nolan was about four hours away from the “foolishness” when a Merrimack College lacrosse player shouted a racial slur at a Native American on the University of Albany 11 days ago.
But word circulated quickly, drawing interest from Nolan, as the Albany player in question played for his Haudenosaunee Nationals Lacrosse program in upstate New York.
Nolan is executive director of the 200-plus player program, all of which are Native Americans.
He has cache when it comes to the sport. He not only played and received a scholarship at powerhouse Syracuse University, but he was the only Native American in 1970 to graduate from a Div. 1 school.
“We heard about it, and it’s too bad that these things still happen,” said Nolan, who is part of the Mohawk tribe of the Onondaga people (200,000 est.), part of the Six Nations, which includes about 70 square miles of territory in southern Canada and upstate New York.
“You think we’d be over this stuff by now, with all races,” said Nolan. “They still happen from time to time, but thankfully, for the most part, they are isolated incidents.”
Ironically, lacrosse was reportedly born in the Year 1100, right in Nolan’s neighborhood, played by the Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois people.
Nolan is no stranger to “this stuff,” going back several decades, but it wasn’t to the extent people might think.
He was a former youth star in his tribe and later earned a scholarship to play at powerhouse Syracuse University.
“There was one school in upstate New York,” he said. “Three of us, my brother, myself and another guy were Native American. and we heard it. But it was the only time I remember it.”
Nolan said the sport is and always has been a physical one. While they may not have had the equipment, padding etc. back in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, physical play was part of the game.
“I think a big issue today is kids have to understand how to take physical acts that occur … and move on,” said Nolan. “A lot of the back-talk between players occurs because young people get upset. Just move on. Accept it. If it’s illegal, the referees should call it.”
Which brings us back to Merrimack and “the slur.”
Neither school released the names of those involved and Nolan sort of liked it that way.
“What we heard is that Merrimack handled it properly from the start, which doesn’t usually happen,” said Nolan. “[U of] Albany probably could’ve made a bigger deal about it, too, but is that the right thing to do? We all make mistakes. and that was a bad one.”
But, said Nolan, he hopes most of all that the Merrimack player learned from his transgression and never does it again.
“Lacrosse was always a game about peace, friendship and healing,” said Nolan. “I think we’ve lost over the years in the modern game. It’s the greatest sport in my opinion because of everything it teaches players about teamwork, camaraderie and passion. and when the game is over you move on.”
Nolan said he hopes the sport, which is growing exponentially by the day, gets back to its roots.
“There are ninety-two countries that play lacrosse,” he said. “We’re talking Asia, African, South America … We can make the world a better place and lacrosse can play a role in it.”
You can email Bill Burt at bburt@eagletribune.com.