The White House has voiced its support for a campaign to include the indigenous inventors of lacrosse at the sports’ Olympic debut in 2028. “We’re hopeful the IOC will see it our way as well. If we’re successful, it won’t simply be the flag of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy that marches in the Olympics, it will be the flag of Indigenous people across the world,” White House senior adviser and director of intergovernmental affairs Tom Perez told the AP. The Haudenosaunee are credited with inventing the sport of lacrosse around the year 1100. The Confederacy is based in upstate New York and adjacent territories in Canada.
Furthermore, the Haudenosaunee has competed in international lacrosse events as an independent team since 1990. However, the Olympics have long held firm in their notion that athletes must represent an existing Olympic Committee. When lacrosse was announced as a sport for the 2028 games in LA, the IOC suggested that the US and Canada find a way to include the Haudenosaunee in their respective national teams. Representatives of the Haudenosaunee, who led the campaign for lacrosse’s inclusion in the Olympics, have been adamant that they be allowed to represent themselves. Now they have a significant backer in the President himself.
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Alabama QB Enters The Lacrosse Transfer Portal
BREAKING NEWS: President Joe Biden advocates for the Haudenosaunee Nationals, creators of lacrosse, to compete under their own flag at the 2028 Olympics!
This historic move champions the recognition of Indigenous nations in the global sports arena.
pic.twitter.com/tLhFeI1GPe
— Next Level Sports and Entertainment (@nlsetv) December 6, 2023
However, lacrosse has been making a lot of headlines at the collegiate level as well. Tyler Buchner, the second-string quarterback at Alabama, has announced he has entered the transfer portal. However, he has entered the portal as a lacrosse player, not a football player. Buchner was one of the top lacrosse recruits coming out of high school. Despite this, he eventually committed to play football under Brian Kelly at Notre Dame. He was never able to capture the QB1 slot with the Fighting Irish, nor with the Crimson Tide after transferring in 2023.
While he has not confirmed that he is entirely turning his back on football, reports from ESPN suggest that he is primarily looking at his lacrosse options for the spring. Ironically, Notre Dame, Buchner’s original school, captured their first-ever men’s lacrosse title during the 2023 season. At this time, it is too early to determine if there are any lacrosse frontrunners for Buchner’s services.
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