NCAA Will Penalize North Dakota for Use of Sioux Mascot

The NCAA continues to show its colors of being politically correct in a world that can hardly afford it intellectually.

The NCAA told officials at the University of North Dakota that continued use of the Fighting Sioux nickname in spite of a state law the North Dakota Legislature earlier this year.

Let's get a few things clear before we jump into this story. I am no fan of the NCAA prying its head into matters that it has no business being in. I understand the history of  governing bodies and its treatment of Native Americans the past 180 years. (Side note: Want a preview of government run health-care? Look at the Indian reservations around the country and see the despair and poverty.)

The law, which says UND must use the nickname and a logo featuring the profile of an American Indian warrior, "cannot change the NCAA policy" against using American Indian nicknames, logos or mascots that are considered offensive, said Bernard Franklin, an NCAA executive vice president.

In a letter to UND President Robert Kelley, Franklin said the university must follow an agreement it made in October 2007 to discontinue using the nickname and logo by Aug. 15, 2011, unless it received approval from North Dakota's Spirit Lake and Standing Rock Sioux tribes.

Spirit Lake tribal members endorsed the nickname and logo in a referendum, and the tribe's governing council followed. The Standing Rock Sioux's tribal council, which has long opposed the nickname, has declined to change its stand.

The letter means UND will be subject to NCAA sanctions after the new law takes effect in August and could be barred from hosting post-season events on campus. Schools like UND will be penalized when honoring and celebrating the heritage of their area and yet the NCAA and its thought police wish to impose its liberal bias on its institutions. This is a slippery slope in our society and the NCAA isn't helping by throwing water on the path.

This issue doesn't pertain to just UND or other schools who have aboriginal mascots. If the NCAA prevails, no telling where this road will lead universities and colleges. PETA could very conceivably petition the NCAA to sanction schools who use animals as mascots and could even try to ban use of Texas Tech's Matador Song. Matador means killer of bulls for those of you in Austin.

UND spokesman Peter Johnson told the Associated Press, "We thought it was important to clarify the NCAA's position, given all of the activity that's taken place with this issue over the last two months. I think the letter is pretty clear."

The legislation, sponsored by state Rep. Al Carlson, R-Fargo, the Republican majority leader in the North Dakota House, was approved in the House and Senate overwhelmingly. It was signed by Gov. Jack Dalrymple last month a few hours after it was delivered to his office.

"I think the citizens of our state view this quite differently than they do," Carlson said. "We want to know a lot more than what they're going to do. We want to know the reasons why, and we want them to listen to our side of the story."

The earlier agreement settled a lawsuit UND filed against the NCAA, which claimed the association violated North Dakota's antitrust laws and used an arbitrary and capricious process in determining the logo and Fighting Sioux nickname were hostile to American Indians. UND was singled out with 18 other NCAA members, including McMurry University in Abilene.

If you aren't offended by a school mascot, don't worry. The NCAA will be offended for you.