The New York State Department of Education recently banned Native American mascots and team names, and offending schools could jeopardize their state funding. Little did I know that in 2023 there remain high school teams with such names Indians and Redskins. If you’re unfamiliar with the US professional sports scene, there’s been a decades-long brouhaha over major league teams in various sports changing their names and mascots – the former “Cleveland Indians” newly christened the “Cleveland Guardians,” for example, not to mention the “Redskins” to “Commanders” transformation for the Washington football team. I myself own a couple of Cleveland t-shirts with the “Chief Wahoo” logo, though I hesitate to wear them in public. I live in blue New York City and people might take offense; it may be less of an issue in purple Ohio. But I’m a die-hard Mets fan and own enough of my team’s gear to render this dilemma moot. My Cleveland Indians paraphernalia can just stay in the closet.
I’ve heard both sides of this argument. Left-leaning people (or the “Woke,” as Mr. DeSantis likes to call them) tend to see Native American iconography as a racist vestige from a bygone era. (I avoid using the term “Indian” to refer to indigenous people, not necessarily because it’s offensive, but because it’s a misnomer, dating from when Columbus sailed west and thought he had arrived in India.) Right-leaning folks tend to think it’s all “much ado about nothing” and prefer to retain the long-standing traditional team names. Some argue that Native Americans are not even offended, and don’t see the terms “Indians” or “Redskins” as derogatory. (So far, I’ve only heard this argument from white people.) There may very well be native people who refer to themselves by these monikers, though like the infamous “n-word,” they may feel that its use is off-limits to non-people-of-color.
Those who argue that long-held traditions should never be
changed are apparently unfamiliar with the history of my alma mater, Port
Richmond High School (PRHS) in Staten Island, New York. Founded nearly a
century ago, this public school has changed its team name multiple times. The
earliest incarnation was the “Minstrels,” and the mascot was depicted as a show
boat minstrel, possibly in blackface, though I’ve only heard about this ancient
character and never seen a picture. At some point, the name was changed to the
“Red Raiders” at the suggestion of some enlightened Staten Islander, though
this sobriquet was subsequently abandoned, purportedly during the Cold War era,
when the “Red Peril” aroused legitimate unease. By the time I entered high
school in 1974, the team name had reverted to “Minstrels,” though the mascot
now appeared in the medieval attire of a strolling player, and not as the
racist show boat persona. My long-lost high school ring displayed this merry musician.
But at some point after I graduated, it was decided that the medieval player
evoked too wimpy an image, and a more robust emblem was needed. Fast forward to
the present day: PRHS now calls its teams the “Raiders.” (They dropped “Red”
even though that word had innocently referred to our school color, and not to
communism.) But as an alumnus about to celebrate my 45th reunion,
“Raiders” sounds alien to me. For me and my fellow members of the Class of ‘78,
“Minstrels” remains our cherished mascot.
Arguments for historic precedence and treasured traditions may not be as straightforward as they seem. The road to political correctness (or to making everyone happy) is a twisted one. But amid the muddle of opinions about team names and mascots, I recommend we err on the side of being less offensive.
