Seneca president condemns ‘racist and disgusting’ comments directed at Lake Shore lacrosse players

In a statement, Seneca President Rickey Armstrong Sr. noted that Lake Shore High School has a significant number of students who are Seneca.

“A spectator at the event was caught on camera spewing racist and disgusting hate speech towards the Native American athletes on the Lake Shore team,” Armstrong said. 

In a video of the event supplied to The Buffalo News, a man’s voice can be heard shouting, “you’re an animal” and “you’re a bunch of savages” as students played on the field.

“Not only are these comments deeply disrespectful and hurtful to our young athletes, the person making them put ignorance and lack of human decency on display for all to see and hear,” Armstrong continued in his statement. “Lacrosse is an event we hold sacred, making the comments all the more egregious. We cannot and will not accept this behavior from anyone and hope that this individual is held accountable for their blatantly racist taunts.”

He noted that, recently, New York State implemented a new rule – which, Armstrong said, was long overdue – barring schools across the state from adopting Native American names logos and mascots for their sports teams.

“It was a step toward finally respecting our people, our culture and our heritage in the public realm. One individual at Williamsville South illustrated how far we still have to go. Imagine a teenage student athlete being ridiculed and reduced – by an adult no less – to a hurtful caricature based on their background and the color of their skin. It’s shameful,” he said.

“We call on Williamsville South High School and Section VI to investigate the incident and make right a moment that marred the evening for all athletes. It is our expectation that the offending…