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Sovereignty, Lacrosse, and Olympic Controversy

The American Game by S.L. Price

Join us for a discussion with S.L. Price, in conversation with Haudenosaunee Nationals Board Chairman Leo Nolan, on lacrosse's journey from Indigenous origins to America's Fastest growing sport.

This 60-minute talk will examine how lacrosse mirrors America's ongoing struggle with inclusivity, privilege, and cultural identity and will include a book signing. Learn more about the book and the author below.

S.L. Price unveils the fascinating story behind "The American Game," revealing how lacrosse—created by the Haudenosaunee nearly a millennium ago—reflects America's complex social landscape. From elite colleges to Indigenous communities, discover how this dynamic sport captures the essence of America's past and present while pointing toward a hopeful future of inclusion and recognition.

The American Game: History and Hope in the Country of Lacrosse

Nearly a millennium ago, Native Americans created lacrosse as a means of training warriors and settling disputes. Co-opted by whites in the late 1800s, played for a century largely at elite east coast colleges, over the past thirty years lacrosse has exploded around the world, becoming the fastest growing sport in the U.S. while exposing the fault lines of prejudice and privilege that continue to dog its image. At the same time, the spiritual nature and dazzling style of the Native game has been elevated to center stage as the brilliant Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) play as a nation unto themselves, maintaining their deep traditions and hoping for inclusion in the 2028 Olympics.

Based on seven years of research and observation and crafted with consummate skill, The American Game takes readers inside a unique cultural landscape that nonetheless reflects the wider world. Skillfully weaving in compelling action on the field from World Championships to tense NCAA tournaments, Price also chronicles the controversies and anomalies that have in many ways defined lacrosse. Racism stubbornly persists—and the Haudenosaunee have endured plenty in their rise—yet few mainstream entities have done more than lacrosse to champion the Native American experience. The Duke rape case and the murder of Yeardley Love still resonate, reinforcing the sport’s elite “laxbro” image, yet women remain the core force powering its astonishing boom. Lacrosse’s longtime link with Wall Street remains, but its bond with elite military service is just as remarkable.

Price introduces legendary individuals from Jim Brown (some say he was even better at lacrosse than football), Black superstar Kyle Harrison and the brilliant Iroquois stickman Lyle Thompson, to famed coaches Lars Tiffany and Kelly Amonte Hiller and Onondaga faithkeeper Oren Lyons. All of them, and all who play the game, pay homage to the mystical qualities of the lacrosse stick, which American coaching icon Bill Tierney calls “the thing that makes you special.” A masterpiece of narration and investigation, The American Game is the powerful story of a sport that, perhaps more than any other, captures the complexity of America in its ongoing effort to achieve a more perfect union.

About the Author

S.L. Price, a senior writer at Sports Illustrated for twenty-six years, is the author of four previous books, including Playing through the Whistle, Finalist for the 2017 PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing, and Pitching around Fidel, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Price has also written for Vanity Fair, New York Times, Time, and Oxford American.  He lives in Washington, DC with his family.

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