Fighting Sioux...

I recommend this letter, by the President of the University of North Dakota, Charles Kupchella, who is fighting back against PC idiocy by the NCAA, which has demanded they change their team name, The Fighting Sioux.

...We explained that we have a beautiful logo designed by a respected American Indian artist and that we use the nickname with consummate respect – expecting and getting respect for the Sioux culture from our fans. We pointed out that we do not do tomahawk chops, we do not have white guys painted up like Indians, and our fans do not do Indian chants.

In an amazing display of organizational arrogance, Walter Harrison, in answer to the following direct question at a recent news conference:

“Are there incidents the NCAA has recorded where it (UND) appears to be hostile and abusive?” he said, obviously ducking the question entirely:

“Today’s decision was to review whether the staff’s original decision was the right one. We tried to confine ourselves to that. We believe the use of the Fighting Sioux and the mascots [he is apparently still unaware that we do not have one] and imagery [ours was designed by an American Indian] that represents (sic) are hostile and abusive and we don’t believe the University has made a case to the contrary.” [emphasis added]

Evidence? What evidence? Courts tend to dismiss hearsay and to demand and rely on real evidence.

We invited you to come and see for yourself and you refused.

We now have your letter of May 15 in which you make reference to “substantial evidence,” but nowhere in the letter is this evidence described. ...

This is yet another good example of how organizations get captured by leftists, who become petty tyrants. He's going to take them to court. Good for him.

A bit more:

...Perhaps the most amazing thing is that through all of this – except for stirring things up – you have accomplished nothing. Your stand against Indian nicknames and logos – a stand that seemed to start out against all references to races and national origin – fizzled before it started when you left out Irish, Celtics, Vandals, and a host of other names. Then, for highly convoluted, hypocritical, and in some instances mysterious reasons, you exempted the Aztecs and other American Indian nicknames at the outset and, following that, you exempted the use of Chippewa, the Utes, the Choctaws, the Catawbas, and the Seminoles, leaving the NCAA position on even American Indian nicknames about as solid as room-temperature Jell-O. All of this was, and remains, highly arbitrary and capricious...