Sports teams are using stereotypical mascots for their teams and brands that are associated with controversial images of Native Americans; these cause problems with mascots. Sports are using mascots which are stereotypical with negative connotations to the Native Americans they aware of the problem, not changing the mascots; when it is easy (but expensive) for teams to switch their names and mascots, and finally they use hurtful language when they play games and people use horrible remarks about Native Americans. Sports teams and schools are using mascots which are stereotypical. “They are wrong because they propagate false or misleading beliefs about others and contribute to disrespectful mis relationships.”(S.P. Morris Journal). Washington Redskins and Cleveland Indians are two examples of teams with a logo people find offensive. “They have been targeted by an organization of Native Americans activists, the National Coalition on Racism and they said it …show more content…
Many high schools and teams have been changing their name and logos of other names. It said that “Their have been hundreds of schools who have changed their name. Even two minor league baseball teams have changed their name”(P.13 Carol Spindel). This is good because it shows other schools and teams that it is easy to change. There are many names that they could change too. The Miami University Redskins in Oxford, Ohio, changed their name to Redhawks. The St. Johns Redman is now the Red Storm, and there are also many more teams that have done this.. That is good to see how it is easy to make changes like that. Native Americans and other people have made protests to change the names and mascots. people have. In the 1970’s, in response to student protests, the Dartmouth Indians became the Big Green and Stanford changed it to Cardinal. These are examples of how the protests have made an impact on how they need to change the
There is is a long history of Native American team names in professional, collegiate, and high school athletics. Professional Teams names include: Atlanta Braves, Chicago Blackhawks, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Redskins. Collegiates teams include: Florida State Seminoles, St. John's University Redmen, and Miami of Ohio University Redskins. These teams names are some the tribal history of names and mascots in sports. “Names including: Redmen, Warriors, Savages, Braves and Chiefs commonly show up in sports today.”(What’s in a Team’s name).
All sports teams have a mascot cherished by fans across the country. However teams like the Washington Redskins and the Atlanta braves have fallen under fire for their references to Native American culture.All sports teams names that reference native Americans should be allowed because they are just names and shouldn't be viewed as offensive, and some teams that change their name or logo may lose some of their fan base.
Teams in every sport, at every level of competition, have a mascot. It is the mascot that represents the competitive spirit and team identity, motivating players and fans alike. Does the symbol chosen have any impact on whether a team wins or loses? Unlikely. But the choice of a Native American mascot continues to ignite debate and controversy among athletes, fans and alumni, as well as those people who might otherwise be disinterested in sports. Utilizing an Indian mascot is nothing more than a veiled attempt at hate speech.
Sometime in your life, you have most likely attended a school that had some sort of mascot. These mascots, often animals, are carefully selected to represent not only the school’s competitive teams, but also the whole student body. Mascots are also used to represent professional sports teams. However, the use of Native Americans, an entire race of millions of people, as mascots is extremely insulting and should be banned.
The Native American people have been apart of America ever since the “white man” came over from Europe. There traditions have been around for as long as they have been alive. They were the first people on the land we call home today. The Native American people have done more for this land than we have and we do not appreciate them at all for that. It is crazy how some people just blow them off like they are less than us and do not get anything special, but they do not also need to be disrespected in the public eye. Professional sports teams that have Native American mascots are used in a way that disrespects the people of Native American descent. It also happens at the high school level and gives the young adults with an biased outlook on the culture and history of these people. Any sports team name with an Native American mascot should have to change there name.
Dating back several hundreds of years ago, Native Americans have been deprived, dehumanized, and demoralized ever since Christopher Columbus and his men came and seized the land from the Indigenous Peoples. There have been many tactics that have been used to strip the dignity of the Indigenous Peoples, but the use of an American Indian sports mascot is one tactic that has been in effect since 1932. There are some supporters of these various American Indian sports mascots such as Dan Snyder, the current team owner of the Washington Redskins, that do not feel that these sports mascots have any negative connotations. Dan Snyder may have had a few points when he wrote his letter, but he fails to realize that the American Indian Sports Mascots are
There has been many controversy with teams using Native American name for mascots and has become a major issue in today’s society. Many have viewed the Washington Redskins as honor for Native Americans, others see it racist, insensitive, and demeaning. Woods (2016) claims that “the complaint is that the use of stereotypical team names, mascots, and logos perpetuates an ideology that dehumanizes and demeans the cultures of Native Americans” (p. 298). Since the issue arise, many scholars, journalists and leaders have joined the battle to ensure that each team will eliminate the nicknames since it is considered abusive or hostile. It may take time but the trend is growing. More than 1,400 professional, collegiate,
Many people look at the Washington Redskins logo and see it just the same as any of the other NFL teams’ logos. So, why take the time and money to change their brand for the very few amount of people that think it’s little offensive? In the past couple of years, a lot of people see many pro and college sports teams differently because of their mascot or logo. Native Americans, whose culture diminished ever since Europeans stepped onto the shores of the East, are used as branding for all levels and divisions of athletics teams. A lot of people argue for both sides of the conflict, with one side reasoning that the logos look racist and disrespect Native American culture, and the other side reasoning that they honor Indians and there is not even an issue. However, a ton of people fighting for the Indian mascot’s removal do not know how Native Americans themselves truly feel about them. Also, the general public probably does not know either that many schools actually work with specific tribes to make sure that they respect their culture. The United States should not ban Native American mascots because most Native Americans don’t get insulted from sports teams’ logos and many teams work with tribes to make sure that they don’t disparage Indian customs and traditions.
Many areas of the world have been affected because they were accused of having a racist mascot or team name. In the United States many teams have respect for Native Americans. Counterpoint: Native American-Themed Sports Teams Represent the History and Traditions of the Areas They Represent, and Changing Names Does a Disservice to the
Teams in every sport, at every level of competition, have a mascot. It is the mascot that represents the competitive spirit and team identity, motivating players and fans alike. Does the symbol chosen as a mascot have any impact on whether a team wins or loses? Unlikely. But the choice of a Native American mascot continues to ignite debate and controversy among athletes, fans and alumni, as well as those people who might otherwise be disinterested in sports. Why all the controversy?
Many people do not consider themselves supporting Native American mascots that depict them in a bad manner. But when people walk around with a Atlanta Braves shirt on with a Indian with a tomahawk in his hand, it is degrading to the Indians. It is stereotyping them. School mascots and Sports team’s mascots are named after groups of people for no reason known. Notre Dame was founded by Irish Catholics, but their sports team was named the Fighting Irish. The name Fighting Irish has nothing to do with the Irish Catholics, it depicts them in a wrong way.(Price, 3). Team names can be changed to similar names that do not depict certain groups of people. Like the Redskins can be called the Red Hawks or the
The Chicago Blackhawks, Washington Redskins, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Chiefs, and Atlanta Braves are all professional sport teams in America that use Native American culture to represent them through the means of tribe names, logos, and mascots. These teams have received a lot of media attention around the debate on if the representation of Native Americans is offensive or not. Controversy surrounding Native American mascots first came into the public eye during the 1960s Native American Civil Rights movement, where the use of these mascots was criticized for being insulting. However, the people who conceived these teams did not acknowledge the prejudice and discrimination they were creating and grew the brands into multi-million
Almost everybody loves going to sporting events and seeing all the excited fans as well as the energized mascots. There has been quite a variety of mascots and logos seen in schools whether it be high schools or colleges and in professional leagues. According to a search done by an ESPN FiveThirtyEight reporter through a database known as MascotDB, out of the 42,624 teams in the database at the time there were 2,129 sports teams that have reference to Native Americans (Munguia). That’s about a five percent of all mascots while Native American only make up roughly two percent of the population of the United States in 2014 (US Census). There has been much debate and controversy around mascots and team names that reference Native American throughout the years and gaining more attention especially with the most public debate regarding National
Imagine cheering, laughter, and a group chanting their name; Hundreds or thousands of people unified with dreams of their mascot and team becoming victorious; Many people full of pride, brandishing their logo on shirts, jerseys, posters, and on the walls of their school. Imagine entire families supporting a tradition decades old. Then, imagine that the very same logo, which so many people enjoyed, was demeaning to you and your loved ones. Their symbol of unification misrepresented your culture and beliefs by depicting your family as savages and brutes, making a mockery of your culture through the use of offensive slogans, chants, and pictures. This is the kind of struggle which Native Americans face every day. Many schools and other teams use
Even though some sport teams may use the derogatory term as their team name such as “redskin”, there is not sufficient reason to state all Native American mascot are disrespectful.