Black lacrosse player boycotting over racially charged slogan

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jovan Miller is one of the most well-liked and recognizable professional lacrosse players. The Syracuse graduate and former All-American currently plays for the Charlotte Hounds, but his future could be in jeopardy.

“If I won’t wear the uniform, obviously I can’t play,” said Miller.

Miller said it all started a few weeks ago when he began noticing some of his Twitter followers using the hashtag “#NinjaPlease.”

“It kind of alarmed me at first,” admitted Miller. “The actual meaning behind ‘Ninja Please’ is the ‘N-word Please.’ They put ninja in it to kind of disguise it.”

UrbanDictionary.com has several entries for the phrase, all of which confirm Miller’s interpretation of “Ninja Please.”

After searching online, Miller discovered “#NinjaPlease” was an advertising campaign from Major League Lacrosse sponsor Warrior Sports. Warrior Sports is one of MLL’s main investors and makes the jerseys, among other gear, worn in games.

“Honestly, it was offensive. I didn’t feel like there was necessarily malice behind it, but I felt like they knew they could get away with it. Warrior is a company that prides itself on being ‘edgy’ but this is too far,” said Miller.

Read more on: WCNC