A comment from Reason: on the Notional Correctness Apoplexia Academy; or NCAA:
Go, Persons of Indeterminate Race or Gender, Go!
The NCAA’s ban on “abusive” Native American nicknames is many things, but principled is not among them. This move was primarily about primarily about [sic] money and secondarily about small-stakes academic politics.
On the political front, it allows the NCAA, as represented by college presidents, to toss a bone to the lefty identity politics rabble on their campuses, the same folks who chafe at the very existence of multi-million dollar college athletics programs. So there’s that.
But as the multi-million part implies, there is big money at stake in the NCAA licensing and associated spin-offs from institutional nicknames, too much to risk some court somewhere decreeing that an Indian tribe somewhere is due 30 years of back royalties. And that’s about all there is to it; no need to puzzle over why Illini is offensive but Aztecs is not. There is no rule at work.
Much like the rest of the NCAA’s so called oversight of College athletics.
While big time college athletes are by no means amateurs, even if they follow NCAA “rules”, the NCAA bestirs itself to remove some of the last traces of Amerind reference from public view.
Jim Thorpe is spinning in his grave.
Pretty soon no young Illini fan will have any reason to wonder about the origin of the team’s former nickname. And, if he looks it up, he’ll only find references to a variety of sweet corn.
Unfortunately for Illinois, Cornhuskers is already taken.
Sports teams’ names, with a few modern exceptions, were chosen to inspire respect and awe. “Abuse” is in the mind of the beholder.