Now Just Four Little Indians

Prior to June 1, 2006, there were five remaining universities that had Native American mascots that played college football at the Division 1A level. Those five instituions were Arkansas State (Indians), Central Michigan (Chippewas), Florida State (Seminoles), Louisiana-Monroe (Indians), and Utah (Utes). Of those, CMU, FSU, and Utah had been granted permission to continue using their nicknames, primarily because a. the nicknames were actual tribes and b. the schools gained permission from at least one remaining branch of those tribes to keep using the names.

However, as of June 1, 2006, Louisiana-Monroe (or ULaMo, as I like to call it) will now use "Warhawks" as its nickname for its athletic teams. Now, on one level, I applaud this. One of the most annoying things to me in a sports league/conference is for multiple teams to have the same nickname (such as Auburn/LSU Tigers, MSU/Georgia Bulldogs, the two Roughriders teams formerly in the CFL (Ottawa has since folded)). In addition, Warhawks apparently has a connection with the area, as the P-40 Warhawk was flown by General Claire Chennault, a graduate of what was once Northeastern Louisiana.

But, on the other hand, I have come to despise the trend in political correctness in sports. While it may or may not be fair to Native Americans to be utilized as a sports mascot, the fact remains that no one picks a mascot to ridicule it (the UC-Santa Cruz Banana Slug an exception to this rule). Teams want a mascot that exudes stength and victory and honor and glory. Like Spartan. Or Trojan. Or Mountaineer. Or Ragin' Cajun. I bring the last two up, only because they are the two non-Native American mascots that actually could apply to modern demographic groups in the United States. I understand that Redskin or Redman or Savage can be seen as offensive, just as changing Mountaineer to Redneck or Inbreeder would be. But the NCAA's heavy handed policy of forcing schools to change their long-standing nicknames to appease a small but vocal group of people who find it insulting or demeaning disturbs me. What's next? Greek-Americans advocating a ban on the use of Spartan or Trojan? PETA complaining about animal mascots or nicknames? Crayola copyrighting Crimson, Cardinal, and the like? Where does it stop?

Kudos to ULaMo for finding an alternative that not only ties into school history, but also sounds pretty intimidating too. I just hate the fact that the NCAA forced them into it, by pandering to the opinions of people who really just ought to be told, "Tough. Guess you'll have to be insulted. Don't come to any of games, then."