The Name Remains the Same

A little while ago, the NCAA announced that it had instituted new rules restricting, and ultimately banning, the use of Native American mascots, logos and team nicknames in post-season play. That, effectively, eliminates those things entirely. (Nobody changes their uniforms just for the playoffs.) That decision almost immediately sparked a mixed reaction. Most on the politically correct side chimed in with, "It's about time!" Naturally, there was a lot of opposition from traditionalists, many of whom have no argument to fall back on except, "This is how it has always been done."

The fact is that too many people weighed in without stopping to ask the Native Americans. The issue is not as clear cut as one's sensibilities might lead one to believe. In a number of cases, the aboriginal tribes portrayed in mascots and nicknames actually approve of it. An example of that is with Florida State University. Not only does the Seminole tribe of Florida support the use of its name, it also participates in the design of the mascot's outfit and helps the school achieve a positive portrayal of its people. In fact, FSU doesn't refer to the Seminole as the mascot but as the "spirit" of the school.

With that in mind, the NCAA announced today that their new rule can be appealed on a school-by-school basis, with the decision based on whether the depicted tribe approves of its name and imagery being used. I personally think that this is a fair compromise. I'm not sure that it should be up to you or me to decide what is offensive to someone else without understanding the context.

I'm not familiar with all the affected nicknames in the NCAA, but I know that most of them are of a specific tribe residing in the university's state, like the Fighting Illini. If the Illini nation approves of the use of its name and approves of the logo and mascot, as the Seminoles in Florida do, that's all that should matter. But one thing that I think all reasonable people can agree on is that catch-all nicknames of aboriginal people are offensive. Unlike adopting the name of a specific tribe and sharing its pride and history, names that portray an entire race or ethnicity are nothing but stereotypes. I don't know if there are any such nicknames in the NCAA, but there are a number of them in pro sports. For example, which tribe is referred to by the Braves or the Indians? It has certainly been expressed by many Native Americans that they find those names offensive. In Canada, many Inuit people would object to the Eskimos name. And what could be worse than naming a team the Redskins? Can you imagine a team called the Yellowskins, Blackskins or Whiteskins? I think that's self-evident.

An argument has been made that there are also ethnic names like the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame that are not objected to. I think the distinction here is with its origins. Notre Dame's early football teams were composed largely of Irish-Americans. In fact, very early on, the team was known as the Catholics! So it's a little different depicting your own ethnicity than having someone else do it for you. For example, if Brandeis University decided to start calling its basketball team the Wandering Jews, I'd find it much less offensive than if the nickname was adopted by, say, Wichita State. Once again, I think that's self-evident.

Ultimately, pressure needs to be applied to the individual schools for change to take effect, as it has with a number of schools who have voluntarily changed their Native American nicknames over the years. I think that the NCAA, after taking criticism, finally came around to the right decision after realizing that Native Americans are not one monolithic tribe. Now maybe they can put more energy into making sure that student comes before athlete in "student-athlete". Doubtful though. Chemistry labs just don't get the ratings.