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SPORTS LOGOS AND RACISM
Racism has been a sensitive issue in the United States since the formation of the nation. Although the American Revolution brought some significant changes to the ‘racist culture’ of the country, racial discrimination and harassment is still a crucial issue in the United States. Though U.S is commonly connected with the issue of racial abuse in mass media, racism is a widespread issue across the globe. Racial segregation exists in sport sector too and this scenario markedly degrades the values of sport. Many scholars opine that sport has ever been a platform for ethnic majorities (specifically Whites) to demonstrate their dominance over minority groups publicly. Since there are no strong organized protests from the part of these minorities to defend such abuses, race-sensitive incidents are still occurring in sport. The practice of using racist logos, mascots, marks, and nicknames in sport has been a sensitive issue, particularly in North America. The Native American mascot controversy has greatly struck the American sport industry and it has been a bone of contention in the country for a long time. This paper will critically analyze whether the use of racist logos would hurt the feelings of a community and affect the growth of sport industry as a whole.
Background
Racism has been observed in different sport activities throughout the history. Undoubtedly, racial segregation will ruin the fundamental values of sport, the ultimate intention of which is to promote integration and harmony in the world. A report released by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) says that racial abuse is a very common practice in Australian sport. Incidents of racial abuse and segregation have often hurt the dignity of sport items like soccer, cricket, and golf. For instance, Indian cricket fans racially abused Andrew Symonds, an Australian cricketer, during a cricket match in India and this adverse event was officially reported to the International Cricket Council. Similarly, the history of using racist logos and mascots in sports can be dated back to several centuries. Throughout the history, White people and other majorities used racist logs and mascots to demonstrate their dominance over minority races or ethnicities. It has been a common practice that sport teams use logos, mascots, and nicknames for conveying their team identity and intimidating the opponents. However, there have been many instances where a sport team uses logos or mascots simply to demonstrate the racial dominance of particular ethnicity or to hurt the feelings of a racial minority. Since the olden times, racist logs have been used to communicate white norms and privileges to the world. Although there is nothing wrong with the use of logs in sports, the problem arises when logos are used to project a negative image of a particular community or race. Despite the intense efforts taken by sport authorities to abolish the issue of racism in sport, the use of racist sport logos still continues to be a common practice in many parts of the world.
Literature Review
While evaluating the academic literature that focuses on the use of racist logos in sports, it seems that scholars have opposing views regarding this issue. Authors like Hirschfelder, Molin and Wakimsay (1999: 196) say that the use of logos or images associated with the myths of a community is actually an insult to people belonging that particular community. Referring to the position statement of the American Indian Mental Health Association of Minnesota on the use of Indian mascots in 1992, the authors indicate that the practice of using logos and images associated with the myths of American Indians throughout the history so as to enhance team spirit is a form of racism (Hirschfelder, et al, 1999: 196). They support the view that this practice has never been a way to honor a community or to express respect to its people. The organization also adds that people argue in favor of using racist logos in sports are either misled or concerned more with promoting their personal agendas than honoring Native people (Hirschfelder et. al, 1999: 190). Many other scholars back this opinion and they strongly claim that use of racist logos will ruin the dignity of sports. While going through history, it appears that this ethical issue has been raised in many occasions by people/communities (specifically Native Americans) when they were portrayed in a negative manner by schools and professional teams. As Mullin, Hardy, and Sutton (2007: 209) point out, schools like Florida State University and University of North Dakota and professional clubs such as Cleveland Indians and Washington Redskins were severely criticized for using the stereotypical images of primitive Native Americans. In response to such criticisms, many schools and colleges including Stanford University and Dartmouth College withdrew their Native American mascots and nicknames nearly three decades ago (Mullin et al, 2007). At the same time, many organizations defended their use of such logos, mascots, and nicknames by claiming that those representations are actually intended to respect and promote Native American culture and heritage. To support, Cleveland Indians claim that the club’s nick is meant to show respect to its former player Louis Sockalexis, a Penobscot tribe member (Mullin et al, 2007: 209).
Some other scholars are of the view that use of racist logos in sport would enhance the team spirit of participants and fans, and this scenario in turn may contribute to the growth of sport industry in the country. To justify their argument, those scholars point out the success stories of professional clubs such as Cleveland Indians and Washington Redskins that use racist logos and trademarks. They add that use of logos associated with indigenous communities is a great way to find and grow more sport people from those communities. Authors like Schultz (2000) claim that a proper ‘mix of racism with sports enthusiasm’ may add notably to the overall team spirit. He adds that this approach may be also helpful to attract a broader audience and to augment the popularity of sport events (Schultz, 2000:.91). Another major argument in favor of the use of race-related logos is that it would give minority or tribal communities a sense of belongingness, and thereby they may come to the mainstream of the society.
Critical Evaluation
While analyzing the issue from a closer point, it is identified that major sport teams or ethnic majorities are taking unfair advantages of the minority communities or races. To make it clear, many people who argue in favor or using Indian logos and mascots in sports search and find some Indians who back the practice of using them. Those people believe that obtaining support from the victimized community is a great way of justifying their arguments. A few people may speak in favor of using images and logs associated with their tradition and culture as those people think they are honored by this practice. However, majority of the Native people want those logos and images to be banned from using in sport events as they find the practice an insult to their community and culture. Although media and social workers have highlighted the issue of using racist logos in sport, sport team managements that use such logos argue that there is nothing wrong with this practice as long as aggrieved parties do not consider this practice offensive. It is a clear fact that many indigenous people think that race-related logos and images used by sport teams like Cleveland Indians and Washington Redskins are not intended to promote the representation of their respective cultures (Hirschfelder et. al, 1999: 190). However, these professional teams still continue to use such stereotyping logos because there have been no well-organized protests from the part of affected ethnicities.
So as to maintain their reputation and to avoid further legal complications, many schools and colleges accepted the allegations that their logos, mascots, and nicknames were racist and consequently the organizations changed them. However, some professional teams were unwilling to agree with such claims and they simply justified their stand, some in a court of law. The professional club Washington Redskin won such a lawsuit in 2003 that was filed by a group of activists who claimed that the club’s trademark mocked Native Americans. Many clubs hesitated to change their logos, mascots, and nicknames because they believed that such a change would adversely affect their fan base. Their usual explanation for this approach is that the use of race-related logos, mascots, and nicknames is a way of honoring Native Americans but not demeaning them or ruining their cultures (Locklear, n.d.). For instance, the Chief Wahoo logo (which depicts the caricature of a Native American face) of the Cleveland Indians faced severe criticisms from Native Americans, sociologists, and other interest groups. Although this professional club considered replacing the logo in 1990, the club retained the logo ultimately giving due attention to the popularity of this logo among the fans. In response to this arrogance from the part of Cleveland Indians management, Native Americans have been protesting against the policy of the club on its opening day for more than 20 years. Philip Yenyo, executive director of the American Indian Movement of Ohio, contends that the Chief Wahoo logo is a clear indication of racism (McGraw 2015). While accepting the claim that this logo has not caused any harm to Native Americans so far, he asks whether the country would permit the club to have Little Black Sambo as its logo if the club’s name was Cleveland African-Americans (McGraw 2015).
The Native American mascot controversy emerged when many professional sport clubs in United States and Canada used terms and images associated with the North American tradition as the logo, mascot, or nicknames for their teams. As Laveay, Callison, and Rodriguez (2009) point out, the use of the logo ‘Chief Wahoo’ by Cleveland Indians and the term ‘redskins’ by Washington Redskins are a few examples of Native American mascot controversy. When the mass media discuss the issue of racist logos in sport, the scope of the problem is often restricted to ‘offensiveness’. This practice limits the scope of the problem to one’s feelings and opinions and prevents people from developing a fuller understanding of the context of this ethical issue. As sociologists point out, logos used in sport are vital symbols having significant social and psychological implications rather than being mere symbols of entertainment (National Congress of American Indians 2013). Researchers on the field of social science say that use of logos associated with the culture and tradition of Native people by non-native professional sport clubs clearly constitutes an offense of ethnic stereotyping that in turn contributes to prejudice and misunderstanding about native communities. They add that such misperceptions about these native communities or ethnic groups add notably to the current socio-cultural problems faced by them. Many researchers think that the unauthorized use of such race-related logos by the majority society simply spreads a message of colonization and suppression of indigenous communities.
As stated already, defenders of this practice argue that it is a great way to promote the bravery, dedication, and other positive qualities of Native Americans and to foster the social integration of this community. They also claim that some people protest against using race-related logos only for some political and business reasons. According to Hart (n.d.), it is disturbing to see that majority of the non-Native Americans have been consistently backing the practice of using race-related logos in sport in public opinion polls. Although the frequency and intensity of this ethical issue have begun to decline since the turn of the 21st century, using racist logos in sport is still a fairly common practice in American sports from elementary school level to professional franchise levels.
Personal Reflections
When a significant number of schools and colleges have changed their racist logos and mascots over the recent decades, it is pitiable to see that professional sport teams like Chicago Blackhawks and Atlanta Braves have not even considered changing them. Although professional sport teams argue that their race-related logos are meant to honor a race or community, they have no sincere intentions to do so. To illustrate, Cleveland Indians management claims that it chose the nickname ‘Indians’ so as to honor its former player Louis Sockalexis, a member of the Penobscot tribe. However, one can understand the falsehood of this statement when knowing that Sockalexis played for the team only very limited number of times compared to average of a full-time position player. In addition, none of the leading newspapers in Cleveland at that time mentioned Sockalexis when the team changed its nickname to ‘Indians’. Hence, it is very reasonable to claim that the team management’s intention was not to honor its former player by giving the nickname ‘Indians’ to the club. This is the reason why many Native Americans strongly claim that the logo is meant to demean them and to mock at their tradition.
As identified earlier, majority of the non-Native American people are supporting the professional sport clubs’ decision to retain their racist logos that arguably demean the Native American community. In this context, it is less likely that the professional sport clubs in America will stop using such racist logos as those clubs do not want to disrespect the interests of their fans. Hence, the tensions between the Native Americans and professional sport organizations like Cleveland Indians would continue to grow over the coming years, and this scenario will certainly ruin the dignity of American sport culture. I strongly believe that Native American people’s protests may be not enough to convince professional sport teams to abandon their racist logos. In other words, a permanent solution to this ethical issue can be achieved only if majority ethnic groups in America change their attitude towards Native Americans. In addition, stringent policies from the part of the Federal Government are also welcome to solve this ethical dilemma in a peaceful manner.
It is an undisputed fact that racist thoughts and practices will certainly ruin the fundamental values and goals of sport and the situation in turn may cause to spread the evils of violence and hatred in the society. Therefore, it is recommendable for authorities concerned to take immediate steps to stop the use of racist logos, mascots, and nicknames in sport and thereby revitalize the country’s sport industry. However, it would be difficult to resolve this issue permanently unless American people take collective efforts to fight professional sport clubs that promote the use of racist logos and marks. Professional sport teams like Cleveland Indians and Washington Redskins would be willing to abandon their racist logos only if they recognize that this practice is not in the interest of their fans.
Conclusion
REFERENCES
Athletic Imagery. (http://uncw.edu/csurf/Explorations/documents/ElizabethLocklear.pdf)
Hirschfelder, Arlene., Paulette F. Molin, and Wakim Yvonne. 1999. American Indian Stereotypes in the World of Children: A Reader and Bibliography. US: Scarecrow Press.
Hart Shae. Native American Mascots: A Quantitative and Qualitative Study of Students’ Acceptability Perceptions of Native Mascots Versus Theoretical Use of Other Ethnic Groups’ Iconology by Sports Teams. (http://goo.gl/PCLZbc).
Laveay, Fraser., Callison Coy, and Rodriguez Ann. 2009. “Offensiveness of Native American Names, Mascots, and Logos in Sports: A Survey of Tribal Leaders and the General Population”. International Journal of Sport Communication 2: 81-99.
Locklear, Elizabeth A. (n.d.). Native American Mascot Controversy and Mass Media Involvement: How the Media Play a Role in Promoting Racism through Native American
Mullin, Bernard James., Hardy., William Stephen, and Sutton Anthony. 2007. Sport Marketing. US: Human Kinetics.
McGraw, Daniel. 2015. “Native Americans protest Chief Wahoo logo at Cleveland Indians home opener”. The Guardian, April 11. (http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/apr/11/native-americans-protest-chief-wahoo-logo-at-cleveland-indians-home-opener)
National Congress of American Indians. 2013. Ending the Legacy of Racism in Sports & the Era of Harmful Indian Sports Mascots. (http://www.ncai.org/resources/ncai-publications/Ending_the_Legacy_of_Racism.pdf).
Schultz Fred. 2000. Multicultural Education 2000-2001. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
