NCAA announces Bradley University not use the name BRAVES

[molar50]

NCAA announced today that Bradley University may no longer use the BRAVES for their team names. The university has announced that the new team name will be called the Rodney Dangerfields. The mascot will have a suit and tie and appear to have hyperthroidism (until that becomes politically incorrect).

[SFP]

Can't we be 'The home of the Brave' Brave. We then can have a Pilgram and a Squaw represent us and not lose The Brave

[BuBraves55]

as of recent:


March 23, 2006


They made the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament a rousing success. They won games and a national following. They played the kind of inspired, team-oriented, tough basketball we all like to see from any sports team with a purpose. And they've done this despite the small size of the school they represent and the conference they call home.

There's more to like. Their coach, Jim Les, is one of the feel-good stories of March; the last time his team made the tourney, he was the star point guard. Plus, his players have this habit of walking through the stands after games and applauding their fans for showing up and offering support.

Therefore, who doesn't admire what they've done? Who has a problem with who they are? Who would object to the Bradley Braves being on the big stage of the NCAAs? Well, the NCAA, matter of fact.

The organization has no beef with their game, only their name.

Remember, the NCAA last summer decided to crack down on schools that use Native American nicknames or imagery, banning them from hosting NCAA championship events or displaying those nicknames in those events.

Some schools later received a pass, but Bradley, which plays top-seeded Memphis tonight in the Oakland Regional semifinals, remains on the unapproved list. The Braves are using their nickname in this tourney only because their case is under appeal. Truthfully, as far as the NCAA is concerned, Bradley has no nickname.

Strangely, unlike the other schools deemed "hostile and offensive" to Native Americans by the NCAA, Bradley did the right thing a while ago. The school took steps to change its identity well before the NCAA turned politically correct. Back in 1993, sensitive to the outcry of local activists, Bradley stopped using students dressed in paint and headgear at games. When a bobcat proved to be a failed experiment, the school scratched mascots altogether.

The Bradley logo also changed from "braves" with a headband and feather to simply "Braves." And that's where Bradley drew the line.

Just like the basketball team, the nickname remains standing.

Although the NCAA means well, the organization should be charged with shoddy police work. The whole idea of selective enforcement is silly. For example, Bradley Braves is forbidden, but North Carolina-Pembroke Braves and West Georgia Braves isn't. What's the difference, especially since Bradley doesn't use any mascot or offensive logo? What, are these Braves being targeted because their sports teams are better?

Then there's the Florida State Seminoles. The NCAA cops backed off after Florida State was backed by the Seminole Indian tribe in Florida, which says it believes Florida State honors, not mocks, Seminole heritage. But Bradley says it approached the Inter-tribal Council a decade ago and received unanimous support to continue using Braves, in honor of the Woodland tribe that once inhabited Peoria, Ill., home of the school. Once again, this smacks of a double standard.

The NCAA's policy is woefully inconsistent.

"Clearly, no Native American tribe owns the word 'braves' in the same way it owns the name of a tribe," explained the NCAA's Bernard Franklin when Bradley's first appeal was made, "and therefore [Bradley] cannot overcome the position that the use of such a name leads to a hostile or abusive environment."

Actually, the NCAA is walking down a slippery slope because not every member of every ethnic group thinks alike. Some Italian-Americans cringe at the imagery and stereotypes on "The Sopranos" while others think whacking is cool. Meanwhile, HBO feels no urge to pull its money-maker off the air. And wasn't it Peoria's own, Richard Pryor, who regularly used the N-word in his stand-up routines? Plenty of black people laughed, probably the same ones who feel that hip-hoppers and gangsta rappers (white, Latino and black) who shout the word are harmless. Also, some women are for abortion, some are against it.

See what I mean? The NCAA is trying to tell all Native Americans what's good for them, when in reality, nobody can take the pulse of an entire group or race.

As the Bradley, um, Braves continue their well-received run through the tournament, they do so under the backdrop of dissension.

Their appeal will be heard next month.

Let me suggest how they handle that NCAA contest: Keep the Braves' nickname. Tell the NCAA that the new school symbol is an American soldier.

Ask if anyone objects.

Shaun Powell can be reached at shaun.powell@newsday.com.