1941 Harvard – Navy lacrosse game The Harvard - Navy lacrosse game of 1941 was an intercollegiate lacrosse game between the Harvard University Crimson and the United States Naval Academy Midshipmen on April 4 , 1941 . The game was played at Navy ' s campus in Annapolis , Maryland . Before the game , the Naval Academy ' s superintendent told Harvard that the Navy team would not play against a racially integrated team . Harvard ' s team had one black player , Lucien Alexis Jr . Harvard ordered Alexis home and the game went on as scheduled , which Navy won 12 - 0 . Harvard ' s and the Naval Academy ' s administrations were criticized for their actions . Game . On April 3 , 1941 the Harvard lacrosse team ' s 18 players arrived at Annapolis , Maryland to play the Naval Academy in a scheduled intercollegiate match . That day , the Naval Academy ' s superintendent , Rear Admiral Russell Wilson discovered that Harvard ' s team included one black player , Lucien Alexis Jr . Wilson informed Harvard ' s coach , Dick Snibbe , and athletic director , William J . Bingham , that the Navy ' s squad would not play against a racially integrated team . Angry at the Navy ' s stance , Snibbe and Alexis ' teammates elected to forfeit the game and return to Harvard . Bingham , however , intervened and ordered the Harvard coach to send Alexis home and play the game . Learning of Bingham ' s directive , Alexis voluntarily decided to depart and told his teammates that it was his idea . The game was played as scheduled the next day and Navy won 12 - 0 . Reaction . Harvard ' s student newspaper , " The Harvard Crimson " , learned of the incident and sharply criticized Bingham and Harvard ' s administration . The newspaper said of the incident , " Those officials here who asked the negro to return to college should explain the reasons for their actions by which Harvard has kow - towed to Jim - Crowism . Navy bigwigs should also be taught that when this country , this college and the navy itself declare their faith in democratic equality , they mean to practice what they preach . " Bingham justified his actions by saying , " We were guests of the Naval Academy and had no choice in the matter . Had the game been played at Cambridge , I would have insisted that he be allowed to participate . " Newspapers in Boston and New York City picked - up the story and criticized Harvard ' s and the Naval Academy ' s administrations for their behavior . The Harvard Council for Democracy in Education complained to US president Franklin Delano Roosevelt about the Navy ' s actions in the incident . In response , the Harvard Corporation told Bingham and the Harvard Athletic Association to inform all future sports competitors that the school would not tolerate further racial discrimination of its student athletes . One week after the incident , Alexis and the rest of Harvard ' s lacrosse team traveled to West Point , New York to play a game against the United States Army ' s Military Academy . In contrast to the reception the Navy had given Harvard ' s team , at West Point a cordon of cheering cadet s , led by black cadets attending the academy , welcomed Alexis and his team . Later events . The first black student to graduate from the Naval Academy — Wesley A . Brown — graduated in 1949 . On May 10 , 2008 , a dedication ceremony was held on the Naval Academy campus for its newest building , the Wesley Brown Field House . Brown participated in the ribbon - cutting ceremony with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm . Mike Mullen , Naval Academy Superintendent Vice Adm . Jeffrey L . Fowler , and Maryland Governor Martin O ’ Malley . Also present were almost one thousand guests .