bear facts said:
Btw, why isn't the NCAA coming down on the Fightin' Irish or Demon Deacons or Cowboys or Hoosiers or Sooners or Spartans or Trojans or Gauchos? Seems like the same reasons would apply when it comes to these names. Surely this organizational body would not resort to DOUBLE STANDARDS?
Well, in the case of Notre Dame, it was a school started primarily by Irish Catholics, so it's not even the same argument. If Indians had started and/or named the current schools, then it would be a moot argument.
Cowboys applies to a profession, not an ethnic group.
I don't see what Demon Deacons has to do with the argument.
"Sooners" was a term to describe people that made a claim on land, and while they were almost certainly all white, probably another case of people calling themselves something and not representative of an ethnic group.
There aren't any Spartans living in the USA. Heck, there's only 19,000 in Greece and that town was rebuilt by King Otto in the 19th Century, and the nickname certainly hearkens to the ancient Spartans.
Troy doesn't even exist.
A
gaucho is nothing more than a word used in some South American countries for what we call cowboys. It doesn't denote an ethnic group, it's even a last name in Brazil (see the famous Brazilian soccer player Ronaldinho Gaucho.)
I think what a lot of people don't like (including my Indian friend) is the s stereotypical images it portrays. Your wife points out the Cleveland Indians mascot for one, but my friend points to things like the Seminoles mascot, (i.e. a white guy dressed up like an Indian and acting goofy), not to mention the days when the Atlanta Braves had Chief Knockahoma (don't know if they still do, I stopped following baseball years ago) and a teepee set up in the middle of the stands at Fulton County Stadium.
Obviously, your wife is entitled to her opinion (and it holds more weight than mine), but I'm just pointing out why I don't think those other nicknames are "loaded" like the Indian ones are.
I remember an ad in Sports Illustrated several years ago taken out by and Indian group that had the Cleveland Indians pennant, and then had a bunch of fake pennants made up for the Kansas City Caucasions, the New York Jews, Philadelphia Negros, etc. In that light, it does make them seem kind of ridiculous (at least to me.)