Here's where we start:
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/new...9?OpenDocument
OK, several things that piss me off about this from many different directions:
1) to the opponents of the change- spare me the "This is political correctness gone amok" routine. Not every name change is "politically correct." Legally, a child born out of wedlock is known as a "bastard," and the laws regarding such children are known as "bastardy laws." Well, over time, that word became derogatory, hence we no longer use it, such children are known as, well, children born out of wedlock. It was not "PC" to change the name, it was the proper thing to do. Also, spare me the "tradition" argument; at Dartmouth University, it was a "tradition" to hold a "cake walk" (similar to a minstrel show) for many years, until they finally stopped (I believe in the late 60s or early 70s).
2) to the proponents of the change- obviously, there's not much going on these days in the Champaign-Urbana area. The logo on that helmet is dignified (as are the depictions of most Indian logos, perhaps the Cleveland Indians being an exception) and there is history in the name Illini and Illiniwek. In many cases, the universities honor (or honored) tribes that were native to their part of the country (another example would be the Florida State Seminoles). I've never heard too many Irish Catholics complaining about Notre Dame (and they use a leprechaun as their mascot). Now, they probably would if the leprechaun were shown passed-out in a pub, but he's not. Nor is the Seminole, nor are the Illini, nor were the Eastern Michigan Hurons. If you play the "it offends me" game, then animal mascots could be offensive to animal-rights activists. The "Stars" could offend the astrology set, "Reds" should offend the wing-nuts (oh wait a second, in the 50s, the Reds changed their name to "Red Legs"), Buckeyes should offend those who are allergic to nuts, I could go on and on. I think the worst example of this was when St. John's changed from "Redmen." Turns out, the origin of that name, they were the "Redmen" because they wore the color red (like the Cincinnati Reds), not because it was in reference to Indians. Well, some people could interpret it that way and, well, they're now known as the "Red Storm." All the crap in the world, and we're worried about a name someone could (mistakenly) be offended by?
3) to the students who are suing- kiss my a##. No "due process"? I'm sorry, I forgot about the part where you had an inherent right to have a university utilize a logo/mascot of your choosing. That would be like me suing Burger King (as a stock holder of their's) to force them to bring back their old logo. Let me guess- you only chose to attend UI because of the mascot, otherwise you'd have gone to Bradley and been a??OOPS??they're the BRAVES!!!! Disrespect alert!
4) There should be no shame in a tribal nickname, assuming it's historically accurate. There really shouldn't be any shame in Braves, Warriors, or Chiefs, because they have a generic connotation. OK but there is one clearly wrong, clearly racist name, and I don't see it going anywhere, and that's the Washington Redskins. There was no "Redskin" tribe, that was a racial term, it would be no different than calling a team "The Coloreds." No, their logo is not disrespectful, but the name is. Miami U was right in changing it, but the NFL won't ever make Daniel Snyder change it because of??you got it??$$$$$$$.
So really, everyone can go F-off on this one; everyone ranging from the goody-goody white liberals at the colleges who think they know what is and isn't racist, to the right wing-nuts who think there is no such thing as racism and that any attempts to fix a situation are automatically "this is just political correctness out of control," to plaintiffs who sue for pathetic, unfounded reasons, and finally (and most of all) to Daniel Snyder, hands-down the most disgraceful human being ever to own a sports team.