March Mascot Madness

Terry Keleher

March Mascot Madness

the chief.jpg

The use of racist mascots in sports at all levels is a continuing saga. But the climate is shifting, thanks to years of active resistance on many fronts, reaching enough critical mass to help rewrite some of the rules of the game.

The struggle continues, but with each victory, there’s at least some cause for gladness as we approach another season of March Madness, NCAA’s men’s college basketball playoffs.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association’s new policy against racist mascots is having a significant impact on teams.

As of last year, any teams using “hostile and abusive” mascots, nicknames and imagery are barred from hosting or participating in NCAA championship events.

The latest chapter is the University of Illinois’ recent decision, just weeks ahead of the tournament, to discontinue its 80-year half-time tradition of featuring a “war dance” by Chief Illiniwek, the Fighting Illini’s official mascot.

The Chief—routinely performed by a white student, dressed in buckskin costume, war paint and feathered headdress, solemnly dancing with stern-face expression—had become a flashpoint for Illinois’ version of the culture war, often echoing sentiments similar to those of southerners clinging to the Confederate flag.

For the last 20 years, the University’s Board of Trustees actively resisted protests by Native American organizations, the NAACP, Amnesty International, student groups and academic departments within the university seeking to put an end to the misappropriation of Native American culture. Last year, the Board mounted unsuccessful appeals to the NCAA. And earlier this year, the Board was confronted with a request by the Oglala Sioux Nation to cease use of the mascot and return regalia sold to the school 25 years ago.

The NCAA, to its credit, enforced its new rules by barring Illinois from post-season play. The Illinois Trustees, in the face of an escalating controversy with growing costs in both money and reputation, abruptly reversed course.

But it was clear the University finally did the right thing for all the wrong reasons.

Posted at 12:18 PM, Mar 09, 2007 in News | Permalink | View Comments

Comments

A professor friend from San Diego State University dealt with this same situation during her tenure there. Students at this school were known as The Aztecs, and the community rallied around a buff Hispanic male mascot at sports events. He wore a brilliant costume, spit fire, and was jaw-droppingly handsome.

So of course someone complained.

After much angst, community input, student votes, and threats of legal action, the school opted to change their logo from a warrior face to a spear, and the mascot went from a brilliant Aztec god to a little freak in a dress -- the "traditional" Aztec attire. But they kept the Aztec name.

Hispanic groups on campus were embarrassed. Their bold image was lost.

The cost of changing the logo was so significant that they had to raise tuition, which hurt the student body -- a good percentage of whom are Hispanic.

The community that had built up around the college felt betrayed. The Aztec name and image had been used in countless ways in the area. They felt they had been raped by political correctness -- and the pre-law student looking to make a name for himself by creating a problem where none existed. And I agree.

I went to a university where students are known as The Fightin' Irish. I'm half Irish and I never thought our leprechaun was a racist mascot. If anyone tried to politically correct us out of our tradition, I'd tell them to shove it.