New Zealand continues its swift response to the Christchurch shootings. This time in the rugby world.
The United States has often served as a foil to New Zealand in the wake of the mass shootings at two mosques in the city of Christchurch that killed 50 people last month.
For instance, New Zealand received praise from gun control advocates in the U.S. after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her government effectively banned ban all military-style semiautomatic weapons in the country. The U.S., meanwhile, has not passed significant gun reform in recent years, despite a high number of mass shootings.
Now, that contrast has entered the sports world. New Zealand Rugby and one of the country's preeminent professional rugby clubs, the Christchurch Crusaders, are working on a name change.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The team has been called the Crusaders since forming in 1996, with a logo featuring knights and swords. Crusaders, of course, refers to the English soldiers who fought in religious wars in the Middle East against Muslims during the medieval era. Because the man charged in last month's shootings specifically targeted Muslims, the team said in a statement it is considering a complete rebranding — or at least changing the imagery associated with the club — acknowledging that the name might be offensive to some due to its historical connotation.
Several sports teams in the U.S. have come under scrutiny for their franchise names and mascots, most notably the NFL's Washington Redskins and MLB's Cleveland Indians, whose branding has been protested for decades by people who deem it offensive to the country's indigenous population. The Indians did recently drop their logo, Chief Wahoo, a caricature of a Native American man. The Redskins have been more defiant, with franchise owner Daniel Snyder saying, "we will never change the name of the team." The Crusaders, on the other hand, said their name and logo are "no longer tenable."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Today's political cartoons - November 24, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - taped bananas, flying monkeys, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The Spanish cop, 20 million euros and 13 tonnes of cocaine
In the Spotlight Óscar Sánchez Gil, Chief Inspector of Spain's Economic and Tax Crimes Unit, has been arrested for drug trafficking
By The Week UK Published
-
5 hilarious cartoons about the rise and fall of Matt Gaetz
Cartoons Artists take on age brackets, backbiting, and more
By The Week US Published
-
DOJ demands changes at 'abhorrent' Atlanta jail
Speed Read Georgia's Fulton County Jail subjects inmates to 'unconstitutional' conditions, the 16-month investigation found
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
China tries to bury deadly car attack
Speed Read An SUV drove into a crowd of people in Zhuhai, killing and injuring dozens — but news of the attack has been censored
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Menendez brothers may go free in LA prosecutor plan
Speed Read Prosecutors are asking for the brothers to be resentenced for the 1989 murder of their parents
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Abercrombie ex-CEO charged with sex crimes
Speed Read Mike Jeffries ran the brand during its heyday from 1992 to 2014
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump criminal trial starts with rulings, reminder
Speed Read The first day of his historic trial over hush money payments was mostly focused on jury selection
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Parents of school shooter sentenced to 10-15 years
Speed Read Jennifer and James Crumbley are the first parents to be convicted in a US mass shooting
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Unlicensed dealers and black market guns
Speed Read 68,000 illegally trafficked guns were sold in a five year period, said ATF
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Bankman-Fried gets 25 years for fraud
Speed Read Former "crypto king" Sam Bankman-Fried will report to federal prison
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published