NCAA Limits NDN Mascot Use...

Well, it's good to hear that they've taken some steps toward fixing the problem, but this is still way short of being an acceptable situation. I think it's quite interesting that the NCAA claims it can't control what individual institutions do outside of tournaments, how about tell them that a school is paying their athletes to play, or that a university is paying high school coaches for every player they can get to sign on with them?

Sounds like a double standard to me...

--ryan





NCAA Bans Indian Mascots During Postseason

Friday, August 5, 2005

INDIANAPOLIS - The NCAA banned the use of American Indian mascots by sports teams during its postseason tournaments, but will not prohibit them otherwise.

The NCAA's Executive Committee decided this week the organization did not have the authority to bar Indian mascots by individual schools, committee chairman Walter Harrison said Friday.

Nicknames or mascots deemed "hostile or abusive" would not be allowed by teams on their uniforms or other clothing beginning with any NCAA tournament after Feb. 1, said Harrison, the University of Hartford's president.

"What each institution decides to do is really its own business" outside NCAA championship events, he said.

Guidelines were not immediately available on which logos and nicknames would be considered "hostile or abusive."

The NCAA two years ago recommended that schools determine for themselves whether the Indian depictions were offensive.

Among the schools to change nicknames in recent years over such concerns were St. John's (from Redmen to Red Storm) and Marquette (from Warriors to Golden Eagles).

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