Indianapolis
The NCAA has banned “hostile or abusive” American Indian mascots from post-season tournaments. Under the new policy, schools must remove the nicknames and logos from their uniforms by February if they want to compete in post-season play. Walter Harrison, chairman of the NCAA’s executive committee, said the mascots were “unacceptable for NCAA championship competition.” Eighteen teams, including Florida State’s Seminoles and the University of Illinois’ Illini, will be affected. Several other schools have already changed their team nicknames, under pressure from activists who say they are insulting to Native Americans. Vernon Bellecourt of the Anishinabe-Ojibwe Nation said the NCAA could have provided “moral leadership on the issue,” but by confining the ban to the post-season, “they’ve chosen to only go halfway.”
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