Sovereignty or the Game

The sport of lacrosse was developed by the Native Americans hundreds of years ago. Yet, today, a team of Iroquois lacrosse players are being denied the opportunity to travel to England for the world championships, because they insist on traveling with their native passports. Initially, England would not grant the team visas to travel for the tournament, because of the concern that the US would not allow the team to reenter the States upon return. Now, the US State Department has officially recognized the native passports, yet England is continuing to deny access. The US government offered to expedite US passports for the team, but the team collectively refused them, insisting that traveling on their native passports was critical to their sovereignty as an Indian nation. The team has already missed their first match of the tournament, but is continuing to hope that it will make their second round match against Japan as negotiations with England continue.

Since the US has agreed to recognize the native passports, it is ridiculous that England will not grant entry. There is no longer a concern that the team will not be allowed to reenter the US. However, the team could easily make the tournament if they just agreed to travel with US passports. This strong statement for sovereignty over competing in the tournament is a bold one. What do you think the team should do - continue to hold out or travel with US passports?