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Mascots : An Honor Or An Insult?

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Mascots: An honor or an insult? The idea of using Native American names and images in sports has been a topic of public controversy in the United States since the 1960’s. Sports mascots that continue to promote racial, cultural, or bias slurs should be changed so that racial discrimination can be stopped and everyone can be treated equally/fairly. In today’s society, there is no room for racism or stereotypes especially in sports; an activity that is supposed to bring people together to support and celebrate challenges. The use of native names or symbols by native teams is a harmful form of ethnic stereotyping which is at best prejudicial and perhaps even discriminatory, and should be eliminated. In 2005, then NCAA President Myles Brand issued a “self-evaluation” to 31 colleges to examine their choice of mascots and the potential of offensive imagery. Nineteen of the schools either changed their choice of mascot, or eliminated offensive images; it is an insult to Native American people to those schools with offensive mascots. This research and mainstream support for the elimination of mascots has come after decades of action and protest from Native American groups such as the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and the National Coalition Against Racism in Sports and Media. So as a result, some schools, colleges, and professional teams are retiring their names, images, etc. and sadly, some are not. Most notable, professional sports teams (i.e Cleveland

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