NLL team fires announcer after racially insensitive remarks toward player

PHILADELPHIA — Shawny Hill has been fired by the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League two days after he made racially insensitive comments about a First Nations player on the visiting Georgia Swarm.

The Wings put out a statement on Monday saying Hill had been “permanently removed” from the role.

Hill’s Twitter profile also states that he was a TV announcer for the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers.

The Wings’ statement says that he has been suspended from all inarena announcing assignments at the Wells Fargo Center, home of the NLL and NHL teams.

Hill called for Swarm forward Lyle Thompson to have his ponytail cut off during Georgia’s 13-11 win on Saturday night.

Thompson, from Onondaga Nation, New York, and his brothers Jerome and Miles all play for the Swarm and wear braided pony-tails in tribute to their Indigenous heritage.

Jeremy Thompson, the eldest of the Thompson brothers, plays for the Saskatchewan Rush and also wears a braid.

“The Wings are working closely with the National Lacrosse League to implement ongoing diversity training for all employees which will include a focus on the Native North American roots and traditions of the sport,” said the Wings statement on Monday. “The Wings remain deeply apologetic for the offensive comments that overshadowed Saturday night’s game and are fully committed to furthering a culture of respect.”

Administrators at residential schools in Canada and the United States would cut the hair of Indigenous children in one of many steps designed to separate the kids from their heritage, families and communities.

Many First Nations people in Canada and the United States now wear their hair long in memory of those children and to preserve Indigenous culture.