Mascots

Zane Ligas

Writ 101

Can Mascots be Offensive?

 

Everyone is aware of sports teams and their mascots. Something many people are not aware that some mascots can be very offensive. For example, take the Cleveland Indians. Their mascot can be considered racist to Native Americans, but non-natives  might not even think its racist until someone said it’s racist. I grew up knowing all these teams without even thinking whether people would get offended. Now that I know, I understand why people get frustrated over it.

            In the article “Fighting Sioux: The End of a Legacy?” by Brittany Bergstrom she stated how North Dakota University might have to change their “Fighting Sioux” name and how much controversy was created from it. A student journalist wrote an article asking people about their opinions on keeping the mascot name. The weird thing was the person writing was a non-native and seemed to only ask non-native students. She might have asked some, but in the article it didn’t say she did. And of course none of those people thought it was racist because they weren’t native and knew what it was like to be one. The only students she wrote about were the ones who liked the name.  I personally like the name but I would understand why some people would want to change it. The University wants to keep the name so they tried bargaining with the near by Sioux. They said they would have two pow wow’s a year and other ways that might help keep the name.

            Natives have traditional ways that they protect very heavily. Some mascots can make them feel like it is disrespecting their culture and tradition. I started thinking about all the mascots that portrayed an Indian or anything someone would take offense to and there were actually quite a few. High schools around my area, colleges around the country, and even professional teams have mascots like this. One school in my district had to change their name from of their original name “Savages.” Many people took offense to this saying it was racist to Native Americans calling them savages. The school then changed their name to the “Savage Heat.”  

            Logos can be considered a stereotype and another reason to change the name. Cleveland, Florida State, and North Dakota all have logos that are a native. Natives can get angry because the logo is presenting them all don’t as wearing paint or feathers in their hair but people just think that because they are don’t live near natives.

            What if Cleveland organization changed the Cleveland Indians name to the Cleveland Africans or Asians? Of course Africans or Asians would be offended. People don’t think it’s racist unless it’s about them. I think to avoid any problems we should just change all mascots to names that don’t offend anyone. Mascots can be used in a way people aren’t offended. Picking a new mascot should take a careful decision. A lot of mascots could be offensive so teams have to take precaution and be ready to possibly change their name. I also think that if the school is representing the mascot or the culture well, it should be no problem. They should ask the people who they are representing first to see if it’s all right. Mascots can bring controversy but can give the student a sense of pride to be part of a team.