About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 Va. Sports & Ent. L.J. 274 (2001-2002)
American Indian Nicknames and Mascots for Team Sports: Law, Policy, and Attitude

handle is hein.journals/virspelj1 and id is 280 raw text is: American Indian Nicknames and Mascots for Team Sports: Law, Policy, and Attitude Roger Clegg* The local papers around Washington, D.C., have been filled with controversy recently over the Maryland Commission on Indian Affairs' announcement that it has targeted thirteen school districts in an effort to remove Indian names from sports teams. There are twenty-seven separate schools that continue to use names considered offensive, according to the board, with fourteen using the term Indians, eleven using Warriors, and two using Braves.1 Not Drunken Injuns, Naked Savages, or Wagon Burners, or even Redskins. So it is not clear exactly why these names are found to be offensive. And the price of political correctness is not insubstantial to some of the schools; one estimates that it will cost $80,000 to replace the name on school uniforms, letterhead, and the gymnasium floor.2 Nonetheless, there is no denying that there has been a great push of late to challenge the use of Indian names and mascots by sports teams. As an otherwise negligible op-ed in the Chronicle of Higher Education correctly noted, Recently, the struggles over such mascots have intensified, as fans and foes * Vice president and General Counsel of the Center for Equal Opportunity, a research and educational organization based in Sterling, Virginia that focuses on civil rights, bilingual education, and immigration issues; J.D., Yale Law School, 1981; B.A., Rice University, 1977 The author thanks Michael DeBow, Robert Detlefsen, John Harrison, and John Miller for their thoughts. See, e.g., Nurith C. Aizenman, Md. League Upset by Effort To Ban Indian Team Names, Wash. Post, Aug. 12, 2001, at D4; Margie Hyslop, Indian Namesakes Go Far Beyond Little League, Wash. Times, Aug. 27, 2001, at At; see also Matthew Celia, Panel Exceeded Authority with Little League Boycott, Wash. Times, Aug. 16, 2001, at A1; Margie Hyslop, Indian Panel's Boycott Call Rebuked, Wash. Times, Aug. 18, 2001, at A l; Matthew Celia, Indians Evicted from Poolesville High, Wash. Times, Aug. 29, 2001, at Al. 2 Matthew Celia, Cecil Decision Likely Fatal to Indian-Name Effort, Activist Says, Wash. Times, Nov. 28, 2001, at B1.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most