Even more reaction to NCAA policy on mascots

National
Even more reaction to NCAA policy on mascots
Wednesday, August 10, 2005

More views and opinions on the new Indian mascot policy of the NCAA that bans the use of "hostile and abusive" images during post-season tournaments.

RACISM STILL ALIVE
"Haven't Native Americans, one of the most brutalized and exploited groups to inhabit our soil, had enough of Caucasian tormentors? We took their land, culture and hope. Apparently, we must also trivialize their sacred rituals and possess their souls. All in the name of tradition, glory and the granddaddy of 'em all � money. But times change. Sensibilities, too. Or they should."
• Jon Saraceno: Some colleges have lot to learn about racism (USA Today 8/10)

A BIG FIGHT
"This might be an admirable fight, even a good one, but it's already unpopular and likely to prove expensive, too. And not just as measured in lawyers' fees, but by how much it damages Brand's credibility and his chances of enacting the more immediate reforms that would improve college sports across the board. His committees spent four years studying the issue and would be grateful if defending it takes only twice as long. Florida State president T.K. Wetherell is said to be mulling over the appeal process offered by the NCAA plan. ... And just for good measure, he's already enlisted attorney Barry Richard, who led the successful legal challenge on behalf of President Bush during the 2000 election recount in Florida."
• Jim Litke: NCAA about to find out what's in a nickname (AP 8/10)

THE WRONG ISSUE
"The NCAA has a right to dissociate itself from practices it finds offensive. But the mascot ruling won't apply to the regular season; it won't apply to sports that have no postseason championship event. It won't apply to colleges that have no hope of competing at the postseason level. This is hardly the most pressing issue in college sports, which are riddled with poor graduation rates, indefensible behavior and recruiting violations."
• Editorial: Much Ado About Mascots (The Hartford Courant 8/10)
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MASCOTS NOT AN INSULT
"The real message is that the NCAA has reached a ridiculous new low in political correc Reasonable people would not stand for the use of a racial slur in a team's name, or an image that subjects a group to public ridicule. But that's not the case with college mascots. Indian imagery is usually invoked to send a message of courage and strength. The fact is, Indian icons have been adopted because people think Indians are cool. They symbolize the qualities required to win in competitive sports. And that's no insult. Indian imagery is embedded deeply in the American tradition. It's part of the American heritage, not just the heritage of Indians themselves."
• IN OUR VIEW NCAA's kooky mascot rule (The Provo Daily Herald 8/10)

FORMER CONGRESSMAN
"Now that the NCAA's belt is notched with this major victory, will it next attack mascot names deemed offensive not because of some imagined racial or ethnic slight, but because they might possibly offend some other group � People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, perhaps? If it is so horrible to name a collegiate sports team after a tribe of Indians such as the Seminoles, think what conniptions a PETA member suffers when exposed to a team named in honor of an animal species (the Georgia 'Bulldogs' or the South Carolina 'Gamecocks'). Don't laugh. I suspect the PETA folks already are girding for the battles ahead, taking their lead from the dunces running the NCAA."
• Former Congressman Bob Barr: Mascot war shows NCAA flunks logic (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 8/10)
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SEMINOLES NOT SAVAGES
"Universities are no place for symbols of social intolerance, but the NCAA won't advance that important educational cause with an assault on mascot names that is seen as more political correctness. That's why the decision to treat the Seminoles of Florida State University the same as the Savages of Southeastern Oklahoma State University, for example, is jarring and misguided. Not all mascots share the same history or meaning."
• Editorial: NCAA vs. Seminoles (The St. Petersburg Times 8/10)

LEAVE FSU ALONE
" With its ruling last week, the National Collegiate Athletics Association assumes that all Native Americans consider the use of their names 'hostile and abusive' and want the practice stopped. Try telling that to the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which for a half-century has had an amicable and profitable relationship with Florida State University. In June, the tribal council endorsed FSU's use of the Seminoles' name. The tribe gets royalties from merchandise sales, and the deal includes scholarships and courses on Seminole history. The tribe consults with the university to ensure that FSU portrays the image in a respectful manner and avoids stereotypes. FSU has promised to reflect the "indomitable spirit" of the Seminoles, and the tribe has been satisfied. What problem is the NCAA trying to correct?"
• Editorial: Let FSU be Seminoles (The Palm Beach Post 8/10)

WRONG DECISION:
"It is understandable how a nickname such as "Redskins" would be offensive to Native Americans, but when a school such as Florida State or Illinois adopts a tribe's name and a mascot that is not a generic caricature but rather an historically accurate portrayal, it is hard to follow the NCAA's logic. If anything, the use of the Seminole name is good for the state of Florida, the university and the tribe. It draws attention in a respectful and complimentary way to the only tribe in America that was never completely defeated by the United States Army and has become a nationally recognized name associated with collegiate sports in our state."
• Editorial: NCAA Oversteps With FSU Nickname (The Ledger 8/10)

NOTHING WRONG WITH MASCOT
"I say that if the military can name an attack helicopter after a real tribe - the Apache - we ought to be able to name a football team after a tribe that didn't exist. Besides, we have the Fighting Irish, the Vikings, the Spartans and so on. I'm sticking with my position on that. There is nothing wrong with the Fighting Illini."
• Bill McClellan: St. Louis is island of blue in red; let's secede, join Bunch (The St. Louis Post-Dispatch 8/10)

INDIANS DON'T AGREE
"It is difficult enough for non-Indians to be sure what is offensive in this area, especially when Indians themselves disagree. If there were a concerted effort among a clear majority of Indian tribes to end the use of these symbols, we suspect they would disappear fairly quickly. We are all a lot more politically correct than we used to be. But no such movement is out there."
• Editorial: NCAA misses the point (The News-Press 8/10)

PC POLICE
"Well, I guess we can rule out the "Fighting Whities." Beginning in February, the NCAA will prohibit any nickname or logo considered ethnically hostile from being displayed in postseason events. That means the Florida State Seminoles, the Alcorn St. Braves and the Arkansas St. Indians, among 15 other universities, can no longer carry their traditional monikers nor allow their team mascots anywhere near the playing field."
• Robert Slager: NCAA caves to PC police (The Weymouth News 8/10)

THE I-WORD
"The Associated Press took a survey the other day and found that there were only seven NCAA schools left in the whole country that used the nickname 'Indians,' of which I had heard of just one, Catawba, and that was only because I got a flat tire one day in Salisbury, N.C. The only 'abusive' college nickname I have personal knowledge of is the Fighting Sioux of the University of North Dakota and that abuse that was hung on the offending words by the Native Americans themselves.'
• Tome Henshaw: NCAA banishes the I-word (The Weymouth News 8/10)

HOW ABOUT...
" Even though I agree with Wetherell -- I find nicknames like Seminoles and Fighting Sioux (for North Dakota) hardly offensive while I find Savages and Redskins to be disrespectful -- I have to wonder what the school will call itself if it wants to host an NCAA baseball regional. How about the Florida State ... * Fireants? Leave your putter on the ground near a mound and you'll see how feisty these little critters are."
• Column: Some monikers FSU may want to contemplate (The Charlotte Sun-Herald 8/10)

WRONG CALL
"Perhaps the NCAA failed to see the irony. While meeting in Indiana -- 'land of the Indians' -- its executive committee decided to censure college team names derived from American Indiana nations, including the Seminoles, the Utes, the Choctaw and the Chippewas. A victory for cultural diversity? Not really. By adopting a policy of condemnation, the NCAA has blocked the conversation that leads to cultural understanding."
• Andrea Neal: NCAA makes wrong call in nickname dispute (The Indianpolis Star 8/10)

ITALIAN MASCOTS!
"Some colleges might eventually abandon their Native American nicknames, which means they'll need new nicknames. If so, I have a suggestion for them. To replace their Indian nicknames, let them take Italian nicknames. I offer this suggestion as an Italian-American whose father came from Italy and who has a great love for my ethnic heritage. Here's my reasoning: Italian-Americans have had great success in this country. We are found at the highest levels of government, business, art, entertainment, sports, science, education and Kiwanis clubs. Even Bruce Springsteen has an Italian mother. And of course, everyone loves Italian food."
• Tony Gabriele: Switch teams' ethnicities to Italian (The Hampton Roads Daily Press 8/10)

EXTREMIST AGENDA
"Much as I'd like to think differently, there is no winning this fight with the NCAA, which swallowed the extremists' agenda years ago. ... For proof, consider that the Seminole tribe in Florida fully endorses the use of the tribal name and imagery by Florida State, but the NCAA does not care. ... Charlotte Westerhaus, the NCAA vice president for diversity and inclusion (now, there's a title), explained to The Associated Press: 'Other Seminole tribes are not supportive.'"
• Kirk Wessler: Nicknames, golf games and others (The Peoria Journal Star 8/10)

NCAA FORGOT...
"I am an animal lover and am offended by South Carolina's nickname of Gamecocks -- an obvious endorsement of the grotesque sport of cockfighting. For the NCAA to give its tacit approval to an activity in which proud and beautiful birds are bred for the purpose of mutilating and killing each other for human entertainment is appalling."
• Mike Bianchi: Exploring the ridiculousness of nicknames (The South Florida Sun-Sentinel 8/10)
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WHAT ABOUT...
"What the NCAA expects of schools that include the names of states that have taken their names from American Indian words is unclear, when 24 of the 50 states qualify. Should Connecticut change its name, or Massachusetts? If the Americans Indians from whom these names were borrowed do not feel abused or offended, anyone who has ever faced them in a spelling bee certainly does."
• Bernie Lincicome: In ruling on 'abusive' college mascots, NCAA really using its giant, stuffed head (The Denver Rocky Mountain News 8/10)

GATORS NEXT?
David Flagg: OK, Tallahassee Gators, this from a University of Florida grad, an ancient Gator booster and former mayor and state representative of Gator Nation Gainesville. Get ready to join the fight!"
Gene Ennemoser: "If the Seminole Tribe is OK with FSU using the name, that should be all she wrote. But maybe mascot names should actually reflect the student body. If that were the standard, perhaps the mascot for FSU should be the Annoying Cell Phone Users or People Who Paid to Park and Can't Find a Space."
• Letters: Will NCAA target animal mascots next? (The Tallahassee Democrat 8/10)
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NCAA Announcement:
NCAA Executive Committee Issues Guidelines for Use of Native American Mascots at Championship Events (August 5, 2005)

Relevant Links:
NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee - http://www1.ncaa.org/eprise/main/
membership/governance/assoc-wide/moic/index.html
National Coalition on Racism in Sports and Media - http://www.aimovement.org/ncrsm