Jim Thorpe Native American Games on June, 2024: Why dont we have Chinese, Indian or Native American sports heroes? ?

Jim Thorpe Native American Games 2024.

Sponsored Deals

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Native Americans are very involved in sports, and at every level. There are many Native American athleles, here are just a few.

• Ross Anderson, 28, Speed Skiing, (Cheyenne-Arapaho / Mescalero Apache), athlete who has the distinction of being the world's fastest Native American.

• Alvina Begay, 26, distance runner (Navajo): 2008 Olympic hopeful from Ganado, Ariz.; won 13 titles; graduated from Adams State (Colo.) College in 2003.

• Nadia Begay, 21, basketball (Navajo): 5-9 senior guard for Boise State from Kirtland, N.M.; New Mexico state high school player of the year as a senior; not related to Alvina.

• Notah Begay III, 34, pro golfer (Navajo-San Felipe-Isleta): Won four PGA Tour titles, last in 2000; earned $5.1 mil ion; teammate of Tiger Woods at Stanford. Not related to Nadia or Alvina.

• Brett Bucktooth, 23, pro lacrosse player (Onondaga): Rookie in 2006 for Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse; had 14 goals in seven games; attended Syracuse.

• Mike Chavez, 23, basketbal (Crow, Northern Cheyenne): 6-7 senior forward at Montana from Heart Butte, where he led Blackfeet Reservation teams to three state high school titles.

• Jacoby McCabe Ellsbury, 25, pro baseball, (Navajo) Center Field - Boston Red Sox

• Brandon Leslie, 29, distance runner (Navajo): Eight-time Al -American at Adams State (Colo.) College; 10,000-meter outdoor champion in 2000 Division II; 2008 Olympic hopeful.

• Kyle Lohse, 28, pro baseball (Nomlaki): Right-handed pitcher; went 5-10 with 5.83 ERA for Cincinnati Reds in 2006; 54-62 career record.

• Kelvin Sampson, 51, Indiana University men's basketball coach (Lumbee): Also coached at Montana Tech, Washington State and Oklahoma; played baseball and basketball at North Carolina Pembroke.

• Dudley Yazzie, 24, boxer (Navajo): 2008 Olympic hopeful in light heavyweight division from Chinle, Ariz.

--------------------------

Native Hockey

• Ted Nolan - Ojibwa, Head Coach, New York Islanders

- National Hockey League - Native players

• Aaron Asham, (Metis), New York Islanders,

• Rene Bourque, (Metis) Chicago, Blackhawks

• Jonathan Cheechoo, (Cree), San Jose Sharks,

• D.J. King, (Metis) St. Louis Blues,

• Cody McCormick, (Chippewa/Mohawk), Colorado Avalanche

• Jamie Rivers, (Huron), St. Louis Blues

• Chris Simon, (Ojibwa) New York Islanders

• Sheldon Souray, (Metis) Montreal Canadians

• Jordin Tootoo, (Inuit), Nashville Predators

Lacrosse - The Iroquois Nationals

=================================

NATIVE AMERICAN OLYMPIANS

• Frank Pierce, (Seneca): 1904, did not finish in marathon

• Frank Mount Pleasant, (Tuscarora): 1908, 6th in long jump, 6th in triple jump

• Andrew Sockalexis, (Penobscot): 1912, 4th in marathon

• Jim Thorpe, (Sac and Fox/Potawatomi): 1912, gold medal in decathlon, gold medal in penthalon, 7th in long jump, 4th in high jump

• Louis Tewanima, (Hopi): 1908, 9th in marathon; 1912, silver medal in 10,000 meters, 16th in marathon

• Clarence "Taffy" Abel, (Sault Ste. Marie Chippewa): 1924, silver medal in hockey

• Wilson "Buster" Charles Jr., (Oneida): 1932, 4th in decathlon

• Ellison Myers, "Tarzan" Brown (Narragansett): 1936, did not finish in marathon

• Jesse "Cab" Renick, (Choctaw): 1948, gold medal in basketbal

• Billy Mills, (Sioux): 1964, gold medal in 10,000 meters, 14th in marathon

• Ben Nighthorse Campbell, (Northern Cheyenne): 1964, did not place after injuring knee in second round of judo

• Henry Boucha, (Ojibwa): 1972, silver medal in hockey

• Naomi Lang, (Karuk): 2002, 11th in ice dancing

.

-------------------------

Who were some Native Americans who played in the Negro Leagues and who did they play for?

Native Americans were never banned from the Major and Minor Leagues like blacks were, so there were some (such as Louis Sockalexis and Jim Thorpe) in the major leagues. Indeed, it is believed that a few black or partly black players appeared in games by claming to be Indian to account for their skin tone.

What does a sport need to be part of the Olympic Games?

People, haha, really though, here it is:

In the official Olympic Charter, which was revised last in September of 2000, there are specific requirements for a new sport to be admitted to the Olympic Games.

Section 52 of the Charter, entitled "Admission of Sports, Disciplines, and Events" lists the set of requirements that must be met before any sport can even be considered

1. The Sport Must be Widely Practiced

"Only sports widely practiced by men in at least seventy-five countries and on four continents, and by women in at least forty countries and on three continents, may be included in the programme of the Games of the Olympiad."

For Winter sports, the criteria is 25 countries on 3 continents. (Olympic Charter Section 52, Paragraph 1.1.1)

Lacrosse misses on this mark and only on this one, really. But we fall far short with only 10 nations competing internationally for women (in 2005) and 21 teams for men (in 2006) with only six competing in the highest division. A few more nations are starting to play, so the number will grow slowly. More importantly, those nations are, for the most part, starting at the college level and are fueled by second-generation Americans who are allowed to play in international competition. During Ireland’s first year in the games, they were jokingly referred to as "Long Ireland" because the New York drawl drowned out the Irish brogue on the sidelines. This does not lay the groundwork needed for future inclusion within even 20 or 30 years. We are proud of the growing Under-19 World Tournament and the other youth efforts around the world, but this year’s event, held last month in Coquitlam, British Columbia, had only 12 nations in attendance.

Also, remember, in lacrosse we have an extra nation that does not count in the Olympic numbers. The Iroquois are recognized in lacrosse as their own nation because we respect their lacrosse heritage and honor their place as our game’s “host nation”, but they do not compete in the Olympics as the Iroquois Nation. They would play for Canada or the United States if there ever were lacrosse in the Olympics. One of America’s greatest Olympic legends, Jim Thorpe, was a Native American lacrosse player at the Carlisle School in Pennsylvania before going on to Olympic and football fame.

2. The Sport Must Have International Standing

"To be included in the programme of the Olympic Games, events must have a recognized international standing both numerically and geographically, and have been included at least twice in world or continental championships." (Olympic Charter Section 52, Paragraph 3.2)

Lacrosse meets this standard. The ILF and the WILF are the worldwide organizing bodies and there are World Games of Lacrosse for men and a World Cup of Lacrosse for women every four years.

3. There Must be Drug Testing

"Only sports that apply the Olympic Movement Anti-Doping Code and in particular perform out-of-competition testing in accordance with the rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency will be included in the programme of the Olympic Games." (Olympic Charter Section 52, Paragraph 1.1.3)

Lacrosse would meet this standard with the stroke of a pen. Both the ILF and WILF would institute drug testing policies without hesitation if there were any cause at all. The Olympic requirement would be the only cause, but it would be a minor expense after a unanimous vote to institute testing at the world lacrosse competitions.

4. There Must Not Be Mechanical Propulsion

"Sports, disciplines or events in which performance depends essentially on mechanical propulsion are not acceptable." (Olympic Charter Section 52, Paragraph 4.2)

Lacrosse meets this standard. NASCAR is never getting in.

So as you can see we are close, as people say, to Olympic inclusion in terms of having three of the four requirements met. But the first and most important requirement is only reachable if the efforts to grow the game over the last few decades are doubled and then perhaps again over the next few decades.

A large obstacle to any 30-year plan is that the International Olympic Committee changes the rules every so often and they have already voted out sports that meet the criteria above. Taekwondo survived an IOC vote for the 2012 Games in London, but will face another IOC vote next year when members cast ballots for the location of the 2016 Games and various other administrative issues like new sports. Karate, rugby and golf are among a number of non-Olympic sports vying for inclusion on that ballot. Softball and baseball were voted out of the 2012 Games in London and both failed to get reinstated in 2006. Softball will be played in Beijing. The IOC wants to reduce the number of core sports to 26.

To make matters worse, softball is said to have hurt its chances at inclusion because of the United States' domination of the sport. The two-country stranglehold on lacrosse trophies for the last 100 years by the U.S. and Canada will not help the game's chances with the IOC.

I'll make a prediction that I think is fair, correct and I hope I live to see: Lacrosse will get a vote to perhaps become an Olympic sport in the same decade that England or Australia wins the World Games of lacrosse and either Japan, Ireland, Czech Republic, Germany or China is in the final four. We are probably looking at 2050 or later.

We have much work cut out for us if the Olympics are the goal. But then again, we have our games every four years and they are fantastic. Lacrosse folks are the only people in attendance, which is low. I call it a “quaint atmosphere”. Besides, at our games, the sport is never outdone by figure skating, preempted by gymnastics or overshadowed by a great swimmer.