This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
When word recently drifted out that the University of Utah possibly was, or is, considering getting a new logo and a new nickname for its sports teams, traditionalists around here went berserk.
Somehow, in that moment, the drum and feather — or, as some refer to it, the circle and feather — and the term "Utes" were together seen, in a sports context, as sacrosanct and untouchable, at least in the view of those who were angered by the prospects of change.
But maybe it is time to make that change.
Utah has done it before, back some 40 years ago when the school switched from Redskins to Utes. It can do it again, and probably should.
Using a Native American tribe name for a university's athletics teams isn't exactly on the cutting edge of forward thinking, nor is having a drum-and-feather logo painted on the side of football helmets.
We've all heard the rationalizations for keeping what is from the past straightaway in the here and now and in the future: The Ute tribe has sanctioned the use of its name, it brings honor and notoriety to the tribe, it's a part of the school's history, it's what's been done for decades, it's the university's established brand, the state of Utah itself takes its name from the same origin.
But the school's still using the name and heritage of an ethnic group for … sports teams.
If there are any Utes, not just the tribe collectively, but any individuals of that group, who are put off or offended by the notion of having cheerleaders on the sidelines, or fans in the stands, yelling, "Let's go, Utes! Let's go, Utes!" when a first down is at stake on the opponent's 30-yard line on a Saturday afternoon, those offenses should be taken seriously.
That idea really bothers those who see this whole issue as a matter of political correctness gone haywire. But there are some authentic Utes, and people of other Native American tribes, who do not want their name connected with a team or thrown around in such a way, along with all the Bulldogs and Bears and Lions and Cougars and Tigers and Wolverines and Gamecocks and Ducks and Gators and Razorbacks and Beavers and Banana Slugs.
The counter argument always comes — what about Boilermakers and Cornhuskers and Pirates and 49ers and Miners and Lumberjacks and Irish? They're people, too. Aren't they offended? Shouldn't they be protected or equally regarded?
In most of those cases, those are references to what humans do, not who they are. And, in almost every case, they have not suffered through the same prejudices and biases and discriminations and, in our nation's history, the sad consequences some of those attitudes so tragically put upon Native Americans. They weren't massacred or rounded up and put on reservations and treated with such inhumanity.
It's certainly understandable why at least a percentage of people, of all backgrounds and ethnicities, find labeling sports teams by taking the names of Native American tribes demeaning.
But many schools have understood the deal — changing their longtime nicknames to something that offends no one. When you think about that, it makes a lot of sense.
So … why all the pushback? Especially from people who have little frame of reference with the sensitivities involved?
Again, this is where everyone looking for justification knows somebody who is a member of a tribe who has no problem with the use of a name for sports teams. Liberals and troublemakers and, in some cases, Native Americans themselves, are just being too touchy, too hypersensitive about a tradition typically put in place by … white people. They should be proud of it, so the thinking goes.
In a recent message sent out by a Utah administrator, it was made known that although the university periodically reviews its stance on keeping the logo and nickname, it will not at this time make any changes.
Here's one supersensitive voice that says not only that it should have, but also that it one day will.
GORDON MONSON hosts "The Gordon Monson Show" weekdays from 2-6 p.m. on 97.5 FM/1280 AM The Zone. Twitter: @GordonMonson. —
Staying put — for now
After reports surfaced last month that the University of Utah was considering doing away with the school's familiar drum-and-feather logo, the school announced that the logo would remain, at least for the time being. But the university also said it would continue to periodically review its stance.