395: The "American Game" - With S.L. Price

Lacrosse is more than just a sport; it’s a mirror — one that reflects the history, tensions, and contradictions of America itself. So posits acclaimed sports journalist/renowned Sports Illustrated Senior Writer S.L. Price on this week's episode, as we explore his impressive new book "The American Game: History and Hope in the Country of Lacrosse" — a sweeping chronicle of the Indigenous origins, elite entrenchment, and modern upheaval of America's truest "oldest sport.”

From its sacred beginnings among the Native American (and First Nations) Haudenosaune — where the “Creator’s Game” served as both spiritual expression and a form of conflict resolution — to its adoption and reshaping by white elites in Ivy League corridors, lacrosse has long occupied a complicated cultural space. Price brings us inside this uniquely American paradox: a sport that’s simultaneously expanding at lightning speed, yet reckoning with the deep scars of exclusion, privilege, and violence.

We dive into lacrosse's turbulent professional history, including the shaky rise and fall of multiple pro leagues, the game’s fraught image in the wake of high-profile scandals, and the symbolic power of the Iroquois Nationals playing as a sovereign team on the world stage. Along the way, Price shares stories of legendary figures like Jim Brown, Kyle Harrison, Lyle Thompson, and Oren Lyons — voices who have reshaped what lacrosse means, and who it belongs to.

This isn’t just a conversation about sports — it’s about race, class, identity, and what it means to belong in America. If you think you know lacrosse, think again.