Still more reaction to NCAA policy on mascots

Opinion
Still more reaction to NCAA policy on mascots
Thursday, August 11, 2005

Still 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.

JEB BUSH IS RIGHT
"Gov. Jeb Bush hasn't been Tallahassee's most warm and fuzzy friend over his years in office. But his strong language on behalf of Florida State University's battle with the NCAA over post-season use of Seminole symbolism has got to carry some weight - especially coupled with Wednesday's decision by the FSU board of trustees to fight back on all fronts, logically, legally and politically."
• Editorial: Wow, Jeb! (The Tallahassee Democrat 8/11)
pw1

NATIVES NOT OFFENDED
"The Tuba City Warriors. Fort Thomas Apaches. San Carlos Braves. All are Native American reservations schools in Arizona with Indian mascots. In recent years, national surveys indicate that an overwhelming majority of Native Americans are not offended by the use of Native American names and symbols by schools."
• Editorial: Broken spirit (The Arizona Republic 8/11)

OVERREACTION
"Anyone who has ever attended a Florida State University home football game has to be impressed with the drama of the pre-game ceremony. As a drumbeat echoes solemnly through the stadium, an elaborately costumed Indian warrior gallops to midfield on a beautiful Appaloosa horse and hurls a fiery spear into the turf. The horseman, an FSU student, represents Osceola, a historic Seminole chief who led the tribe's resistance to the Indian removal ordered by President Andrew Jackson in the 1830s. It takes a huge leap of credulity to say this ceremony demeans the Seminole tribe in particular or Native Americans in general."
• Editorial: NCAA overreacts (The Bradenton Herald 8/11)
pw1

RUSH TO JUDGMENT
"Oops. In its rush to condemn Florida State University for cultural insensitivity, the NCAA steamrolled over the opinions of people who should have mattered most � actual Seminoles. The NCAA ignored the expressed endorsement of the Seminole Tribe of Florida when it deemed FSU's nickname 'hostile or abusive' and banned it from the post-season. The tribe's decision was brushed aside, as if real-life Seminoles were too stupid to know what to do with their own history and tradition."
• Charles Elmore: NCAA rushes to judgment on Seminoles (The Palm Beach Post 8/11)

CALL IN SCALIA
"Well, the NCAA has gone and done it now. It's made Jeb Bush really, really mad. Next thing you know, Katherine Harris will be counting noses, and Antonin Scalia will write the majority opinion on why Florida State should retain the right to call itself the Seminoles."
• Bob Lipper: NCAA's ruling on mascots out of bounds (The Richmond Times-Dispatch 8/11)

WAR ON MASCOTS
"With loud Harrumph! the NCAA declared war on warrior-like team names and mascots at its tournaments. This is, of course, really about what mascots can be displayed at the NCAA's basketball tournament, a huge money machine for the league and its member schools - and therefore, the New Englanders who now run the league seem to believe, their leverage to do away with such storied names as the University of Illinois' Fighting Illini."
• Editorial: Team Names Rule A Foul by NCAA (The Wheeling News Register 8/11)

GOING TOO FAR
"The NCAA has waded into an unnecessary controversy by ruling member schools will have to abandon 'hostile' or 'abusive' Indian nicknames, mascots, themes or logos when playing in NCAA tournaments. As the case of the Florida State University Seminoles illustrates, the NCAA ruling begs the question of who is offended. And by what?"
• Editorial: Nickname policy goes too far afield (The Indianpolis Star 8/11)

THE RIGHT CALL
"Gov. Jeb Bush believes the NCAA has better things to do than pick fights with member institutions, including Florida State University, over their mascots. Bush has a point. And based on arrest dockets nationwide, maybe the NCAA should invest more in activities and policies that encourage character and citizenship among its student athletes. But the NCAA's ban on American-Indian mascots during its post-season tournaments is more than fun and games. This is about decency, respect and doing the right thing."
• Eric Stringfellow: Tackling issue of offensive college team mascots is the right thing to do (The Jackson Clarion-Ledger 8/11)

NCAA OFFENDS ALL
"History is repeating itself. Once again, Native Americans are subjected to the paternalism of the powerful. First, entire cultures were penned up or wiped out. Now, tributes to those cultures face erasure. 'Here's another example of non-Indians telling Indians what's good for them,' said Max Osceola, a member of the Seminoles' tribal council."
• Linda Robertson: Just leave it to the NCAA to offend everyone (The Miami Herald 8/11)
pw1

NCAA IS RIGHT
"The NCAA could not have handed the University of Illinois a more obvious gift if it tied it up with a big orange bow. The U of I, with its nickname the Fighting Illini and its mascot Chief Illiniwek, is among 18 schools that are subject to the policy. Now's a perfect time for the school to give it up. Surrender the chief."
• Editorial: The NCAA is right: Chief's gig is up (The Rockford Register Star 8/11)

MASCOTS EDUCATE
"An admission: Until a couple of decades ago, I didn't know a thing about Chief Osceola. If I wasn't spending so much time around FSU, I might not have looked it up at all. Now, I can tell you about Osceola's pride and his daring. I can tell you how he was betrayed by the white man. I can tell you how he died of malaria in prison."
• Gary Shelton: NCAA's 'logic' - now that's offensive (The St. Petersburg Times 8/11)

GUILT BY ASSOCIATION
"The unfortunate reality is that FSU eventually is going to lose this legal battle, particularly if its law school handles the litigation. The Noles have been found guilty of guilt by association. Too many other teams have ridiculed American Indians as mascots. FSU has been convicted for other teams' crime, even though the Noles treated the relationship with respect -- cheesy tomahawk chop and chant aside."
• Mike Thomas: Think Gators will like Noles' new mascot? (The South Florida Sun-Sentinel 8/11)
pwday

BAN ON TRADITION
"How ridiculous have we gotten in the arena of political correctness? To ban a school's tradition for a few weeks in hopes that it saves a few feelings is ludicrous. It would be one thing, for instance, if Florida State's nickname served to intentionally mock the Seminole Indian tribe. Pardon me if I'm seeing this through Caucasian blinders but I can't ever remember the word Seminoles being used in a malicious way (unless you count the number of ways a Gator fan can find to manipulate it, but that's a different story for a different day)."
• John L. Crawford: NCAA bans mascots, tradition (The Fernandina Beach News-Leader 8/11)

STRANGE POLICY
"So it's OK for a white baseball player or black football player or Hispanic track star to run around with "Braves" (or "Indians" or "Chiefs," we presume) emblazoned on his uniform as long as he has Native teammates? Is that the message? And what about Notre Dame's "Fighting Irish?" Why is one of the NCAA's most stereotypical and lampooning caricatures being ignored? Need we even ask?"
• Editorial: In mascot case, FSU ought to sue (The Henderson Daily Dispatch 8/11)

'UTES' MUST GO
"With the NCAA clamping down on the use of Native American mascots and names, it is only a matter of time until Utah must join the fold. It is just not a fight worth fighting. The reality is that many schools, including Wisconsin and Iowa, will no longer schedule teams with Native American names. Also, the NCAA, which holds the purse strings, will no longer allow schools with such names to host events after 2008."
• Letter by Derek Schmehl: The Utah Crimson (The Salt Lake Tribune 8/11)

READERS RESPOND
C. J. Frommeyer: "The NCAA excutive council's decision last Friday declaring FSU as one of the 18 schools with 'hostile and abusive' nicknames is ludicrous."
Jane McClellan: "This ruling by the NCAA is absurd. Who will the "NCAA PC police" target next?"
Vern and Jacquie Stanford: "The Florida State mascot is in no way demeaning to the Seminole Indians. In fact, it is well known that it honors them."
• What readers are saying about mascots (Florida Today 8/11)

HARMLESS MASCOT
"No doubt Kansas University can lay claim to one of the nation�s most memorable nicknames. While many other schools are stuck with such mundane monikers as Bulldogs, Tigers, Bears, Cougars, Wildcats, Trojans and Spartans, KU�s sports teams have always been known as the Jayhawks. For decades, the official rendering of the mythical bird has been one of a smiling creature who wouldn�t harm a fly (unless he was hungry, of course). Heck, the Jayhawk doesn�t even have teeth."
• Chuck Woodling: Jayhawk one jolly mascot (The Lawrence Journal-World 8/11)

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