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From: The Wilmington Star
Date: 02 Feb 2005
Time: 08:39:43 -0500
Remote Name: 65.1.250.75
Brave priorities at the NCAA (Editorial) Wilmington Morning Star The paragon of morality and taste that chaperones the academic-athletic industry is asking UNC-Pembroke to study why it calls its teams "Braves" and why the school's logo includes an Indian with a hawk on his shoulder. In this context, needless to say, "study" means "stop." The National Collegiate Athletic Association's Minority Opportunities and Interest Committee dropped heavy hints about this in 2002, but apparently tact and diplomacy made little impression. UNCP still hasn't dropped symbols that the guardian of future NBA stars and million-dollar coaches considers offensive. Taken back by the university's lack of cooperation, the NCAA is trying one last time before it – um, what? Sends in the Seventh Cavalry with Winchesters blazing? Isn't that the traditional way to get the attention of ungrateful Indians? And what else could you call UNCP students? Their institution was founded in 1887 specifically to educate Indians. It stands in Robeson County, roughly a third of whose residents are considered Indians. Even today, more than 20 percent of the university's students are Indians. If they are outraged at being depicted by stereotypes, they've been mighty quiet about it. So has the board of trustees. But the NCAA knows what's best for Indians. So UNCP has appointed a committee to study the issue. It will be led by the dean of the School of Education, the sort of eminence you might expect to be reliably outraged by blatant political incorrectness. In this case, however, the dean is a Lumbee, so it isn't clear whether she can be relied upon to come back with the desired findings. Meanwhile, over in Chapel Hill, trustees are plotting to charge students higher fees to support athletic programs at one of the nation's leading basketball corporations. Fortunately, no one is offended by the corporation's mascot or team nickname. For the NCAA, that's what matters. Posted by Michelle Lambeth Williams on 2005-02-01. NOTICE: This article is the copyrighted property of and is posted either with permission or pursuant to Fair Use and other provisions of Title 17 of the United States Code. This site is optimized for Internet Explorer 6.0+, Netscape 6.0+ and Mozilla 1.3+. Copyright UNC 2004 | Privacy Policy