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Iroqouis National lacrosse team at center of diplomatic dispute: Updated and Moved to Top

By Rick Karcher, Michael McCann, Geoffrey Rapp, Greg Skidmore, and Howard Wasserman

A lacrosse team representing the Iroquois Nations is trying to get to England to participate in the Lacrosse World Championships. Unfortunately, they are trying to travel under tribal (rather than United States) passports, which goes against State Department and U.K. directives. The U.K. is refusing to let the team into the country, concerned that the U.S. will not allow them back in without U.S. passports (despite a one-time waiver from Secretary of State Clinton). So the players remain stuck in a hotel near Kennedy Airport until the matter can be resolved. The team forfeited its opening-round game today (against, irony of ironies, England) and have been demoted to the lesser division for the tournament.
The greater irony, of course, is that the Iroquois invented the damn game.

Read the full piece at Deadspin. Also, check out this lengthy article on the Iroquois team in the new Sports Illustrated.

Update, July 16, 10 p.m.: The team has given up on trying to get to England. Because the matter was not resolved by Friday afternoon, there was no way to get there in time for their Saturday game against Japan.

Full post as published by Sports Law Blog on July 16, 2010 (boomark / email).