Even more reaction to the NCAA policy on mascots

Opinion
Even more reaction to the NCAA policy on mascots
Tuesday, August 16, 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.

REAL ISSUES IGNORED
"Ken L. Klaudt knows the statistics by heart. "On some reservations we have an alcoholism rate of 85 percent," he said. "Unemployment on some Indian reservations is 90 percent, and when I say some, I mean a lot. And the average life span is 46." "That's a problem," said Klaudt, owner of Klaudt Insurance Agency in Norcross. Yet the topic that grabs headlines when it comes to American Indians revolves around school nicknames, logos and mascots."
• Rick Badie: Nicknames not worst affliction (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 8/16)
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NOT AN INSULT
"As an Indian since the 1960s, I don�t see my school�s former nickname as much of a problem. And Native Americans tend to agree with me, actually. In 2003, a Sports Illustrated poll found that 83 percent of those not living on reservations had no problem with such team mascots. And of those who lived on reservations, 67 percent didn�t have a problem with them."
• Dwight Jaynes: It�s a name, not an insult (The Portland Tribune 8/16)

NCAA BACKPEDALS
"Some common sense will still have to prevail, but it looks like the NCAA will be able to backpedal and scramble its way out of what has become a huge public relations disaster. The problem began when its all-powerful Executive Committee told 18 schools they would be banned from post-season play unless they changed their use of Native American imagery."
• Mr. College Football: NCAA begins backpedaling on misguided mascot ruling (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 8/16)
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NCAA GOT IT RIGHT
"For many, the idea of Native American sports mascots generates the same uneasiness as the cigar store Indian. It feels wrong, but we struggle to reconcile why. Trust your gut on this one. Neither has a place in an enlightened society. The NCAA's recent decision to ban ethnically hostile and abusive nicknames and logos from postseason events was poorly executed, but at least the governing body of college athletics is doing something."
• Paola Boivin: Clumsy, yes, but NCAA got it right (The Arizona Republic 8/16)

CHALLENGE 'TRADITION'
"Mascots are a source of pride, they argue - a tradition. This same argument, however, can be used to support any number of social injustices. For example, it was tradition for blacks to sit in the back of buses. It was tradition to bar women from working outside the home. And mentally ill people were traditionally sent to live out their lives in institutions. Each of these "traditions" has been changed and society is better for it."
• Matthew J. Miller: Indian mascots and common courtesy (The Christian Science Monitor 8/16)

NOT NCAA'S PROBLEM
"Let's be clear: Some athletic team nicknames that refer to American Indians are insulting and offensive. You schools know who you are. Your team mascot conveys ethnic stereotypes in name, action and appearance. But does that mean the National Collegiate Athletic Association should ban the use of your mascot in post-season competition?"
• Editorial: Team mascots not NCAA's problem (The South Bend Tribune 8/16)

NCAA DOING RIGHT
"Having an appeal process wisely recognizes a need for case-by-case review, as opposed to a blanket ban. As Florida's Seminoles indicate, not all native Americans find the practice degrading. But large groups of Indians, such as the National Congress of American Indians, do object. With that in mind, the NCAA appears to be going beyond a genuflect to political correctness, to doing what's right."
• Commentary: Rethinking Indian Mascots (The Christian Science Monitor 8/15)

BAN BEHAVIORS
"It is offensive fan behavior -- as well as encouragement of the same on the part of players, cheerleaders or coaches -- that should be banned from all NCAA (and high school or professional) play, not the display of logos and mascots -- unless the mascot somehow encourages inappropriate behavior on the part of fans."
• Editorial: Indian names honor heritage (The Delmarva Daily Times 8/16)

NCAA THE BULLY
"How such nicknames came to be perceived as insults instead of a form of cross-cultural respect can be traced to the explosion of identity-group politicking that started in the mid-1970s and still poisons the political and academic landscape today. For years one of these groups, the National Coalition on Racism in Sports and Media, has been pushing for a ban on the use of Indian mascots and nicknames."
• Editorial: NCAA plays bully on team nickname issue (The Delaware County Times 8/16)

ADDRESS RACISM
"If the NCAA wants to deal with racism, it needs to consider issues being raised in other quarters about the treatment of athletes (who are disproportionately minorities) and about how everyone - from TV networks and sponsors and some universities themselves - except those athletes are making millions and millions of dollars off of college sports. If it wants to show it really cares about "hostile and abusive" actions, it would take steps to ensure athletes are making the grade in classrooms and graduating with their nonathlete peers."
• Editorial: NCAA has greater issues to deal with than team mascots and nicknames (The Asheville Citizen-Times 8/16)

FIGHTING FOR SIOUX
"When Hank Brown finishes sweeping the stables at the University of Colorado in a year or two or three, the regents should dispatch someone to see if Charles E. Kupchella might like to be considered for the job. Kupchella heads the University of North Dakota (the Fighting Sioux), and he's just published a wonderfully combative statement reacting to the NCAA's haughty decision to ban certain Indian mascots and names it considers "hostile and abusive" from postseason tournament play."
• Vincent Carroll: On Point: Fighting back (The Denver Rocky Mountain News 8/16)

BIGGER PROBLEMS
"Heaven forbid that the NCAA should address important issues such as low graduation rates among its athletes; it's apparently enough that they have acted courageously to stamp out this important menace � sports nicknames that offend somebody somewhere. I'm not discounting the power of words � after all, I am a writer. I just think that words like 'abuse of steroids' should take precedence over 'Fightin' Sioux.'"
• Paul Johns: NCAA should focus on bigger problems (The Springfield News-Leader.com 8/16)

POLITICS AND PANDERING
"Let's be honest -- some nicknames and mascots are ridiculously silly. To hear politicians and trustees feign outrage over the NCAA is comical. The NCAA is trying to show sensitivity and the politicians are playing to the masses.

This is all about politics and pandering -- on both sides. "
• PauL Finebaum: NCAA laughs at latest fiasco (The Mobile Register 8/16)

NO SURE ANSWER
"School nicknames sometimes walk a fine line between the appropriate and the utterly absurd. My old stomping grounds of Georgetown, Ohio, is home to one such ridiculous nickname - the G-Men. What's more absurd is the girls' teams are given the androgynous nickname of Lady G-Men, but no one complains, so the name has remained the same. But what about nicknames that blatantly focus on one race or ethnic group? Are the names meant to honor or to perpetuate a stereotype? Sadly, no definite answer can be found."
• Jason Ashcraft: NCAA joins political correctness nickname debate (The Ledger Independent 8/15)

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