NOTE: This story has been updated to include information from the NCAA and other sources.
Albany sophomore attackman Tehoka Nanticoke, one of the biggest names entering the 2019 NCAA season, has been reinstated and will be on the field when the Great Danes face UMass on Tuesday. News broke early Monday morning that Nanticoke was out indefinitely as a result of an Instagram post that tagged a “stick-stringing company."
Marr joined 104.5 The Team this morning to talk about Albany’s weekend thriller with Cornell — a game in which Nanticoke did not appear. At the time, Marr and Albany called Nanticoke’s absence an “internal matter.”
Two days later, it was revealed that a social media post from Nanticoke’s account was the subject of an indefinite suspension imposed by the university. Marr said at the time that he wasn't sure when Nanticoke would return. The NCAA issued a statement shortly after the news broke to the lacrosse community, via the Twitter account @InsidetheNCAA.
"To clarify some details, Albany first reached out to the NCAA today about Tehoka Nanticoke after it withheld him from competition on Saturday. We are reviewing the facts submitted by the school to reach a resolution."
Marr was critical of the NCAA in his radio interview with 104.5 The Team.
“The Big Brother monopoly that we work under doesn’t allow you to do those types of things,” Marr told Chris Onorato of 104.5 The Team. “No warning, no nothing. Just in an instant, you’re ineligible until proven innocent. There’s no urgency on their part. We just have to go through a process. It’s probably sitting on someone’s desk with little to no urgency to get him back on the field.
“They always pride themselves in looking after student-athletes," Marr said. "They’re making millions and millions off of these kids and he promotes a third-rate stringing company and now he can’t play.”
SOUND UP: Scott Marr's reaction to the NCAA suspension of Tehoka Nanticoke. The @UAlbanyMLax star is out indefinitely after tagging a lacrosse stringing company on an Instagram post. pic.twitter.com/FK73xNiBCp
— Chet Davis (@ChetDavisCBS6) March 4, 2019
Nanticoke is one of the most followed college lacrosse players in the country on Instagram, boasting almost 37,000 followers. He also has 4,388 followers on Twitter.
Nanticoke has scored three goals and added an assist in two games so far this season. The Great Danes, who made a run to the final four last season, have started 1-2 with losses to Syracuse and Cornell — the 17-16 affair that Nanticoke missed.
Last season, he burst onto the scene as a freshman scoring 50 goals and adding 32 assists to pair alongside Connor Fields.
Nanticoke missed Albany’s fall season for “personal reasons” according to Marr.