Could Texas Tech Be Forced to Dump the ‘Red Raider’ Name?
It's a new and politically correct world.
After an NFL season where we've had to get used to the idea of a nameless Washington Football Team, another shoe has apparently dropped in Major League Baseball. The team formerly known as The Cleveland Indians are dropping the "Indians" name and "Chief Wahoo" from their name and logo for the upcoming season.
What's next? Do Amazon and Netflix pull "The Wild Thing" from their library?
The world is insane. It's not like changing the name will make anyone forget about their Native heritage. But whatever the fragile flowers want, I guess.
The concerning thing is that this wave of political correctness has no rhyme or reason behind it. Native American groups didn't have nearly the same issue with the Cleveland Indians as they did with the Washington Redskins name, and for good reason. Indians was a tribute. Sure, the "Chief Wahoo" character was a bit dated and out-of-place in this new world, but the name was fine.
I guess this means the Atlanta Braves aren't far behind, nor the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks. It's ridiculous.
The mascot of the high school I attended was the Apaches. My wife was even the school mascot one year, wearing Native American garb to cheer on our school. However, in the mid-90s, the school welcomed a new principal, who made it his mission to change what he deemed a horribly offensive mascot.
It was a very unpopular decision, yet to score social awareness points, he arbitrarily decided to change the school mascot to the harmless, and toothless, Bulldogs. I guess he had a bulldog or something, but the damage was done, and now the school is a shell of its former glory.
This leads into the next question: when the PC Police get on a roll, they don't stop. In that instance, are the Red Raiders safe at Texas Tech University?
The football program has already removed the "Guns Up" slogan from their helmets, and the Oakland Las Vegas Raiders are also getting pushback for their name. Is it a only a matter of time before the soy latte crowd comes bearing torches, demanding a name change for Texas Tech?
I'd like to think that we have a lot more common sense here in West Texas, but we all know that the influence to change names never comes from the existing fanbase. It's always outsiders with no connection to the team, or a new staff member from outside of the program who's trying to score points with the social justice warrior crowd.
If that day comes, let's hope that Texas Tech stands its ground and refuses to give in to a vocal minority who have no connection to this great institution, other than trying to feel better about themselves.
In the meantime, I'll still be wearing my Cleveland INDIANS jersey with pride.
27 Best and Worst Texas Tech Football Uniforms Since 2000