Circle the wagons; here we go again. The intercollegiate silly season is back.
The NCAA, which could have a ton of stuff to scrutinize – such as sham student athletes, bogus courses and skewed higher education priorities – is taking a hard look at its member schools who have Indian mascots and nicknames.
Among the 30 institutions: the Florida State University Seminoles. All were required to turn in “self evaluation” reports addressing issues of racism and discrimination. Theoretically, the NCAA’s executive committee could ban the use of Indian names and mascots – and sanction those that continue the practice.
FSU, which has used “Seminoles” since 1947, historically has had a close working relationship with Seminole Tribe leaders. But that might not be good enough for the NCAA, which listens to a lot of axe-grinding sorts outside the Seminole Tribe who feel any Indian name, no matter the motivation and context, is inherently harmful to Indian self image.
Should that politically correct agenda prevail, FSU could wind up like Stanford, Marquette, St. John’s and dozens of other universities who had to jettison their long-standing, Indian-themed names.
But if that were to happen, here’s a suggestion. Pick a name that would still acknowledge the Seminole nexus, but in a more contemporary, racially-neutral fashion. Call ’em the Casinos.
How ’bout them ‘Nos!