PC Police Arrest Chief Illiniwek

After a few years notable by their absence, the Political Correctness Police once again reared their ridiculous heads into America's universities, this time attacking the most notorious abusers of civil liberties, the college mascot. On Friday the NCAA issued a ban on Native American mascots in post-season tournements, effective Feb 1st. The ban extended not only to the appearance of the character in costume but to the inclusion of the name of the team on uniforms. The NCAA listed 18 schools whose nicknames or mascots were deemed "hostile or abusive" including the Utah Utes, the Florida State Seminoles and the University of Illinois Fighting Illini.

This catastrophy only proves how out-of-touch the NCAA is with university life. A number of the schools is question were named IN HONOR of said tribe, such as the Illini, whose Chief Illiniwek was named after the loose confederation of Algonquin tribes that once lived in the region. The name literally means 'they are men.' Since 1930, the student portraying Chief Illiniwek has appeared in an authentic outfit designed by a member of the Sioux Nation and performs a traditional Indian dance for which he is specially trained. As for FSU, the Seminole Tribe of Florida passed a resolution in June supporting the school's use of the nickname and tribal images. Florida State President T.K. Wetherell blasted the NCAA and threatened legal action. "Florida State University is stunned at the complete lack of appreciation for cultural diversity shown by the National Collegiate Athletic Association's executive committee," Wetherell said Friday in a statement, "that the NCAA would now label our close bond with the Seminole Tribe of Florida as culturally 'hostile and abusive' is both outrageous and insulting."

Myles Brand (president of the NCAA) just doesn't get it. The ban, which is offensive to anyone with intelligence, is not even equally distributed. Football, which has no official postseason tournament (we'll to discuss the BCS mess in monthes to come I'm sure) is not affected. Several schools with nicknames Warriors and Braves were passed over by the ban because they do not use Indian symbols. The North Carolina-Pembroke Braves will not face sanctions because the school's student body has historically admitted a high percentage of American Indians and more than 20 percent of the students are American Indians. Seems pretty arbitrary, huh? Oh and Cheerleading and Band Uniforms at the 'offending schools' have until 2008 to comply...

Let's be honest... teams are named after things that are strong and powerful - things that overcome adversity to succeed. How can that possibily offensive? Not to mention it is an offense to history to suggest that many of the the Native American tribes were not warlike, strong and powerful. It was a part of many nation's culture that their braves prove themselves in battle ... a facet that was taken away and limited by the US governement as we continually encroached on their ceremonial hunting grounds and made them lay down weapons. Are we just saying we shouldn't name our teams after groups of people? To have a team named after you is automatically an offense to your pride? SHould the long suffering industrial workers of Indiana be offended by the the Purdue Boilermakers? How about descendents of Vikings and their bone to pick with Cleveland State? Trojans? Spartans? How about the Raging Cajuns? Or the Hustling Quakers (of Earlham)? Or like the Saints (over 20 schools)? Oh and we haven't even talked about the affront to all barbarian tribes of the Northern Europe circa 400 AD made by the Idaho Vandals. Why is it consider an honor when you call your team the Patriots (George Mason), but an insult when you call them the Chippewas (Central Michigan)? And when will the PETA people join in? Certainly naming all these teams after animals (wolverines, bearcats, longhorns) only instills in peoples minds the brutality of animals when really we should think of them as peaceful creatures of nature.

GET THE FUCK OVER IT!!!!!! That's really what I have to say. Teams are named out of honor. It is an honory position. You would not want to name your team after something that sucks (see the WNBA for a list of hapless nicknames it is hard to cheer for: the shock, the sparks). And university mascots are part of the great tradition that makes college atheletics so endearing. At the start of a Florida State Football game, a student dressed as Chief Osceola rides onto the field on a spotted horse and plants a flaming spear in the turf. How fucking cool is that? When you start to PC police something like that you are missing the entire point - sports are competitive, competition is part of our national identity, as are Native Americans, are we trying to remove their great legacy from our collective conscience? I hope the schools will fight this silly trend and use it as an opportunity show us, instead, the honor the teams feel being connected to the Native American story.