Another Stereotype of the Month entry:

Racist Paternalism at the NCAA

By Andrew Cline

Published 8/10/2005 12:07:36 AM

The National Collegiate Athletic Association's executive committee — comprised of 14 white men, two white women, and three black men — decided last week that 18 university and college nicknames were "hostile and abusive" to Indians. The nicknames and mascots may not be displayed on any team uniform at any NCAA postseason tournament starting next February. It was a new milestone in condescending liberal racism.

The committee members were the sole arbiters of what was "hostile and abusive" and what was not. Among those not allowed a say in the matter were, ahem, Indians.

After NCAA busybodies spent time snooping around Tallahassee, Florida, to gather evidence for their case against Florida State's use of the Seminoles nickname, the Seminole Tribal Council voted in April — unanimously — to affirm the tribe's support for the university's nickname and mascot. Nonetheless, come August the NCAA decreed FSU's use of the name "hostile and abusive." Those silly Indians, they obviously don't know what's good for them.

Also banned is the nickname of the University of Illinois — the Illini. "Illini" was the name of the tribal confederation that once ruled the land now called Illinois. It is the root word for the state name and the name of its people, Illinoians. It is hard to see hostility in a name the white people use to describe themselves, but the NCAA sees it.

University of Illinois basketball jerseys say "Illinois," not "Illini." In its eternal wisdom, the executive committee will allow jerseys printed with "Illinois," but not ones printed with "Illini." What will committee members do when they learn that "Illinois" is French for "Illini"?

Allowing jerseys to bear the French name for the Illini tribal confederation, but not the name the confederation gave itself, is the logical end point of multicultural sensitivity. One wonders whether the University of Illinois student newspaper — The Illini — will be allowed to cover future NCAA tournaments.

Indiana University, whose athletic teams are called "Hoosiers," escaped the NCAA's nickname ban. But Indiana's jerseys don't say "Hoosiers." They say "Indiana," which means "Land of Indians."

By the way, the NCAA is headquartered in Indianapolis — "City of the Land of Indians." How embarrassing.

The NCAA has banned the University of North Dakota's "Fighting Sioux" nickname. "Sioux" is the name for a confederation of smaller tribes, including the Dakota. If UND removes the "hostile and abusive" "Sioux" name from its jerseys and replaces it with "North Dakota," it will still have a tribal name on its jerseys. Obviously, the NCAA executives have not thought their plan through.

The University of Oklahama's football team wears jerseys sporting the university's team nickname: Sooners. Sooners were people who illegally occupied land confiscated from the Indians. (They got there "sooner" than the law allowed.) The university's basketball team wears jerseys bearing the state name: Oklahoma. "Oklahoma" is Choctaw for "red people." Both of these names are OK, while "Seminoles," approved by the tribe, is banned. Go figure.

A thought to consider: If Cherokee Parks becomes a college basketball coach, or Dakota Fanning plays a varsity sport in 2012, will announcers be permitted to mention their names on air?

A college referee I know wonders whether Billy Packer and Greg Gumbel will be allowed to say "Fighting Sioux" or "Seminoles." Play-by-play certainly will be clumsy if nicknames cannot be used.

All of this nonsense is born of the notion that when white people adopt the name and likeness of red people, it is an act of racism, an assertion of racial or tribal superiority. After all, the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, a historically Indian institution, was allowed to keep its "Braves" nickname. Yet white people usually are not being condescending by adopting Indian names or mascots.

Athletic teams wish to associate themselves with qualities valued on the field of play: courage, valor, strength, endurance, bravery. Hence they choose names and mascots they believe emblematic of those qualities: Sioux, Vikings, Seminoles, Celtics, Bears, Tigers, Yankees, Pirates, etc. No one names his team the Pigeons.

To the NCAA executive committee, unencumbered by reality, the actual intent behind the nickname's adoption does not matter. All that matters is how others might perceive it.

The best reaction to this fear of offense, of course, is to let individual institutions work out these disagreements on their own. Instead, the paternalism that comes from intellectual superiority has overruled common sense. And so 19 white and black university and college executives have told countless Indians what is best for them. It is the very definition of racist paternalism.

I hope each of the 18 institutions affected by this policy makes every NCAA tournament next year. And I hope they wear their uniforms, unaltered, and force the NCAA to drag their players off the courts, fields, tracks and mats. Bureaucratic bullying is easy when it can be done with the stroke of a pen. When it has to be backed up by brute force, it becomes a lot more difficult to justify.

Andrew Cline is editorial page editor of the New Hampshire Union Leader.

Rob's reply
>> The National Collegiate Athletic Association's executive committee — comprised of 14 white men, two white women, and three black men — decided last week that 18 university and college nicknames were "hostile and abusive" to Indians. <<

No, they said the nicknames and mascots created a "hostile and abusive" environment—a subtle but important distinction.

>> The committee members were the sole arbiters of what was "hostile and abusive" and what was not. Among those not allowed a say in the matter were, ahem, Indians. <<

Considering how many Indians, Indian tribes, and Indian organizations have protested sports mascots, this is a pathetic joke. See The Many Voices of Opposition for details.

>> After NCAA busybodies spent time snooping around Tallahassee, Florida, to gather evidence for their case against Florida State's use of the Seminoles nickname, the Seminole Tribal Council voted in April — unanimously — to affirm the tribe's support for the university's nickname and mascot. <<

The Seminoles are one tribe. What about the other 560-odd tribes in existence?

>> Also banned is the nickname of the University of Illinois — the Illini. "Illini" was the name of the tribal confederation that once ruled the land now called Illinois. It is the root word for the state name and the name of its people, Illinoians. It is hard to see hostility in a name the white people use to describe themselves, but the NCAA sees it. <<

Context is everything, doofus. "Illini" isn't a problem unless non-Indians use it to associate sports teams with Indian warriors. Similarly, "bitch," "dick," and "ass" are among the thousands of words that are offensive in one context but not another.

>> What will committee members do when they learn that "Illinois" is French for "Illini"? <<

Nothing. They'll say the only problem is using the specific name of the tribe, "Illini," in the wrong context. "Illinois" isn't the name of a tribe—the name they were commonly known as—so it's not a problem. Similarly, the French words for "red skin" don't refer to an Indian and thus aren't offensive to Indians.

>> One wonders whether the University of Illinois student newspaper — The Illini — will be allowed to cover future NCAA tournaments. <<

Don't be stupid. Nobody is protesting Indian names attached to states, trees, rocks, or other inanimate things. The problem is associating the name of a tribe with a sports team, thus stereotyping Indians as warriors. None of the country's other Indian names do that.

>> By the way, the NCAA is headquartered in Indianapolis — "City of the Land of Indians." How embarrassing. <<

Yes, this witless "state name" argument sure is embarrassing. See the Canard of States' Names for a response.

>> If UND removes the "hostile and abusive" "Sioux" name from its jerseys and replaces it with "North Dakota," it will still have a tribal name on its jerseys. Obviously, the NCAA executives have not thought their plan through. <<

Obviously Cline hasn't thought the problem through. Indian names aren't a problem by themselves. They're a problem when applied to sports teams. See the Canard of Names Can't Hurt You for more on the subject.

>> "Oklahoma" is Choctaw for "red people." Both of these names are OK, while "Seminoles," approved by the tribe, is banned. Go figure. <<

I figure Cline must've paid The American Spectator to publish his article. Surely no one else was ignorant enough to be taken in by the phony "state name" argument.

>> A thought to consider: If Cherokee Parks becomes a college basketball coach, or Dakota Fanning plays a varsity sport in 2012, will announcers be permitted to mention their names on air? <<

I considered it. Result: I consider Cline an idiot for wasting his time on this thought.

>> All of this nonsense is born of the notion that when white people adopt the name and likeness of red people, it is an act of racism, an assertion of racial or tribal superiority. <<

When you adopt an old and out-of-date likeness of "red people"—deeming them warriors, savages, and killers and nothing else—yes, it smacks of racism. No one characterizes all white people as colonists or pioneers, so why should they characterize Indians as they were hundreds of years ago? Stereotyping one race but not others is discriminating by race, which is the definition of racism.

>> Yet white people usually are not being condescending by adopting Indian names or mascots. <<

Aren't they? Maybe most whites aren't doing it intentionally. But the issue is the outcome, not their intent. Most racists don't intend to be racist; they're simply operating from lifelong ignorance.

>> Athletic teams wish to associate themselves with qualities valued on the field of play: courage, valor, strength, endurance, bravery. Hence they choose names and mascots they believe emblematic of those qualities: Sioux, Vikings, Seminoles, Celtics, Bears, Tigers, Yankees, Pirates, etc. <<

Thanks for proving the NCAA's point. Why would Indians want to be associated with vicious animals like bears and tigers in the public's mind? To be compared to an animal is dehumanizing. When people see this comparison made every time they turn on the TV and watch sports, it's a problem.

If Cline weren't such a turkey, he'd know that. By "turkey" I mean the noble bird Franklin nominated to be our national emblem, of course, not the bird so imbecilic it gets its head chopped off everything Thanksgiving. I trust Cline doesn't mind my comparing him to a dumb cluck with such an unfortunate reputation.

>> No one names his team the Pigeons. <<

Why not? A 2005 movie called Valiant told the adventures of a plucky pigeon with courage, valor, strength and endurance (enough to fly long distances, anyway), and bravery. Why not name a team after the animal that helped win WW II?

In fact, any animal—a pig or cow, for instance—can be brave while defending its children. The difference is, these animals aren't carnivores known for killing other animals. Bears and tigers are.

>> To the NCAA executive committee, unencumbered by reality, the actual intent behind the nickname's adoption does not matter. <<

Rubbish. Cline doesn't know the "actual" intent of the people who chose a team name decades ago. He's telling us his guesstimate of their intent, not the actual intent.

>> And so 19 white and black university and college executives have told countless Indians what is best for them. It is the very definition of racist paternalism. <<

More rubbish. It might be paternalism if the committee imposed a result that most Indians rejected. But the fact is that many Indians, Indian tribes, and Indian organizations oppose Indian mascots. The NCAA isn't telling the Indians they're wrong; it's agreeing with them that they're right.

>> I hope each of the 18 institutions affected by this policy makes every NCAA tournament next year. And I hope they wear their uniforms, unaltered, and force the NCAA to drag their players off the courts, fields, tracks and mats. <<

If the 18 institutions try this, I hope the NCAA bars them at the door and forces them to drag the NCAA into court. I trust the courts will uphold the right of a private organization like the NCAA to enforce its own rules.

Related links
Why FSU's Seminoles aren't okay
Team names and mascots
The harm of Native stereotyping:  facts and evidence

Join our Native/pop culture blog and comment   Sign up to receive our FREE newsletter via e-mail   See the latest Native American stereotypes in the media   Political and social developments ripped from the headlines

. . .