The Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse Team defaulted on the first game of the World Lacrosse Championships after the British government refused to allow members to travel to England on special waivers that were personally approved by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

But the team remained hopeful that it could make a second game on Saturday. “We are deeply disappointed, and urge our friends and supporters to reach out to the British government to seek reconsideration,” Chief Oren Lyons of the Onondaga Nation said in a statement, The New York Times reported.

Clinton issued one-time special waivers so that the team could travel with their Haudenosaunee passports. However, the British government said it would not issue visas because the documents do not meet their requirements.

“We were given a set of demands, and then we met those demands — and then they were switched. That’s the way we feel," Percy Abrams, the team's executive director, told The New York Times.

The team raised $300,000 to travel to the tournament. They are ranked fourth in the world.

Members of the Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk, Seneca and the Tuscarora nations have used Haudenosaunee passports in the past to travel overseas.

Get the Story:
Iroquois lacrosse team defaults on 1st UK game (AP 7/15)
After False Hope, Iroquois Team Remains in U.S. (The New York Times 7/15)
Iroquois lacrosse team in passport fight given OK by U.S. to travel - only to be grounded by England (The New York Daily News 7/15)
Iroquois lacrosse team cleared to travel by America – then blocked by Britain (The Guardian 7/15)
Stuck in Queens, Iroquois Nationals sing, see movies to keep spirits up (The Syracuse Post-Standard 7/15)
Iroquois coach: 'We're lacrosse players, not terrorists' (The Syracuse Post-Standard 7/15)
Iroquois Nationals: 'Our plan is still to make it to the games' (The Syracuse Post-Standard 7/15)

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Sports Illustrated: Lacrosse a centerpiece of Iroquois way of life (7/14)
Turtle Talk: A State Department payback on Iroquois passports? (7/14)
Steven Newcomb: Obama won't recognize Iroquois documents (7/13)
Iroquois lacrosse team can't head overseas due to travel issue (7/13)