Lacrosse Twitter is a curious place.

Like most social media echo chambers, it includes a fairly insular group of talking heads seeking self-affirmation. We perceive ourselves as defenders of the sport’s image.

So when former Penn State lacrosse player Chris Hogan set a New England Patriots postseason record with 180 receiving yards in the AFC championship game, Lacrosse Twitter was all too eager to celebrate that one of its own had made it. Hogan, after all, still is one of us. He supports Thompson Brothers Lacrosse and the Headstrong Foundation. He even dropped a “Penn State lacrosse” reference on “Sunday Night Football.” The mainstream sports media likewise latched onto the Hogan lacrosse hoopla.

But then the NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” aired a “lax bro” segment in which host Kyle Brandt poked fun at some tired stereotypes — with references to pinnies, pastels and party boys. Lacrosse Twitter responded with outrage, prompting a half-apologetic Brandt to revisit the subject a couple days later on GMFB.

Wasn’t the subculture at least part of what drew many of us to the sport in the first place? We were skateboarding with sticks. We can’t disown that now.

Look, I’m from Long Island. And the presumptions people make about me based on that alone are plenty. They’re right, to a degree. I do love bagels and Billy Joel, I’ve never had a better slice of pizza, I did consider anything north of “The City” to be upstate, I am the littlest bit Italian and I went to dozens of Sweet 16 parties.

​I grew out of that, just as lacrosse has grown out of its lax bro phase. But let’s not be so thin-skinned. Actions speak louder than tweets.

This article appears in the March edition of US Lacrosse Magazine. Don’t get the mag? Join US Lacrosse today to start your subscription.