By Shaun Scott, Puyallup Tribal News
Puyallup Tribal Member Joey Earl donned his shoulder pads and laced up his football cleats for the final time during his high school career more than 2,000 miles from home.
The Chief Leschi senior star student-athlete, who was selected to compete in the 2025 Native American All-Star game this past December, was one of 60 players throughout Indian Country who were tabbed by the Native American Athletic Foundation to play on Jan. 7 at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
Earl’s team in the NAAF All-Star game, Wa-Ya, captured a 37-34 double overtime win in a thriller against Ta’ Tanka. Earl said he was anxious as his team’s kicker lined up for the game-winning field goal attempt.
“I was crouched down and had my hands on my helmet. Initially, I thought he missed it because it went off the upright and went in, but when I saw it from my perspective, I thought he missed it. Then, everyone started cheering. That was probably the most memorable part,” Earl said.
Getting back on the gridiron one final time during his high school career meant everything to Earl. The Warriors quarterback/free safety suffered a broken collarbone in the season opener during the 2024 football season. This past November, he broke his wrist early on during the 2024-25 basketball season. He was thankful his wrist recovered in time for him to get cleared to compete in his gridiron finale.
“I got pretty banged up, but it felt good to be back. The game itself was pretty fun. There were definitely bigger guys than I am used to playing against. I was glad to throw a touchdown and run for some yards,” Earl said.
Playing with other Native Americans was something Earl will never forget. The bonds formed between different players from Tribes all over the United States has forever been cemented.
“I felt really comfortable the whole week. Just knowing there were people like me coming from small reservations and places that are usually underlooked in recruiting, we all kind of come from the same place and almost the same situation. It made for a great experience,” Earl said. “All of us are on each other’s social medias and we’re all on a group chat now. Indian Country is pretty small. It was really cool.”
Councilman James Rideout, a longtime supporter of Chief Leschi Athletics, wasn’t going to miss out on the opportunity to watch his nephew compete in the NAAF All-Star game. He booked a flight to Dallas to watch Earl play.
“Joey is setting a (precedent) for the next generation of kids who are looking up to this time and this moment. They’re going to want to go out and do these things. I told Joey that the amount of work that goes into this moment, it was a lot,” Rideout said. “To be an elite athlete in high school and to be able to (be) accepted to come to a place like this and be featured in the Dallas Cowboys Stadium (practice facility), that’s the first of its kind. He should be proud of that.”
Rideout said he isn’t only proud of Earl’s athletic prowess, he is even more impressed with his grade point average and acceptance letters to colleges.
“Everyone is looking up to what he is doing. Kids are going to say I want to do this and I want to go there. What does that take? Stay in school, be a student first and an athlete second. He is encouraging and inspiring a lot of kids to do the same thing he did,” Rideout said.
Earl has a 3.79 GPA and is enrolled in Running Start, where he is earning college credits while still in high school. Earl plans on pursuing a business degree in college. He has been accepted by the University of Oregon, Whitworth College, Pacific Lutheran University, University of Puget Sound and Washington State University.
While in Texas, Rideout got the opportunity to connect with NAAF Board Members and talk about the possible future collaboration, but what that may look like in the future is still to be determined.
Earl’s selection to the team was quite the process. He sent in game film from his junior season due to his early season injury this season, and filled out an application detailing his athletic and academic achievements. Earl has blazed a path and shown the way for future Chief Leschi athletes to follow in his footsteps.
“Joey has the floor, I might say. It was a great opportunity and he is leaving something behind. The literature, information, the contact people and things of that nature,” Rideout said.
Rideout praised the NAAF for providing Indigenous athletes a platform to showcase their talents.
“To me, it gave them more of an exposure to college coaches and being featured more. I think the NFL and Nike are promoting the fact they want these kids who have kind of (fallen) under the radar to come out more into the light,” Rideout said. “It’s very good and gives them that outside exposure.”
Rideout said a lot of Indigenous kids aren’t used to leaving their reservation in the past, but sees the tide turning.
“It has been a struggle a long time for a lot of kids. … It’s a bigger opportunity than it was yesterday, today,” Rideout said. “That is what you want. You want growth.”