Hoot: Rah, Rah For The Fighten'...er...Student Athletes!

Hoot: Rah, Rah For The Fighten'...er...Student Athletes!
By Jerry Politex
Bush Watch (www.bushwatch.com)
August 27. 2005

An NCAA rep recently told the NYT that its ban of Indian mascots at 17 universities "is not about an effort to be politically correct, it is about doing the right thing." The NCAA announcement held that "stereotyping of Native Americans is wrong," but since Florida's Seminole Tribe approves of Florida State's use of their Indian mascot, it's ok. So that's the criteria: if the group that the school masoct is named after says it doesn't object, it's ok, in the eyes of the NCAA, to have a stereotype of a particular group as a mascot.

It appears that what triggers an NCAA mascot ban is a letter of complaint about a mascot. For example, "The NCAA says it has never questioned Notre Dame's Fighting Irish nickname or leprechaun mascot because it hasn't received a formal complaint," reports USA Today. "We have not gotten information from any group that represents Irish or (anyone of) Irish ancestry ... that they believe that image is hostile and/or abusive," said Charlotte Westerhaus, NCAA vice president for diversity and inclusion. Well, I'm Irish, so Ms. Westerhaus better watch out! Maybe I'll write a letter, as soon as I sober up.

But what about all those animals who can't defend themselves against university stereotyping? Luckily, we have PETA, who has written a letter to the NCAA, complaining about the use of Gamecocks as a mascot by the University of South Carolina and Jacksonville State. "Cockfighting [is] a hideous 'blood sport' that, like spousal abuse, bank robbery and driving while intoxicated, is illegal in both South Carolina and Alabama," notes PETA.

Clearly, the days of the Delaware Fighting Blue Hen mascot at the University of Delaware are numbered. Delaware was named after the Delaware Indian tribe, and the blue hen, the state bird of Delaware, is a gamecock. As the 50 States website explains: "When not fighting the enemy [during the Revolutionary War], the [Delaware] officers and men amused themselves by pitting their Blue Hen chickens in cockfights. The fame of these cockfights spread throughout the army and when in battle, the Delaware men fought so valiantly that they were compared to these fighting cocks." It's doubtful that the University of Delaware would survive the gauntlet of the Delaware Indian Tribe and PETA. All it takes is one letter to the NCAA, and goodby, Delaware Fighting Blue Hens!