[image: CAP News] Mascot Battle Angers Raiders, Hebrews, Spics If the NIAA gets its way, mascots like the Jobe Township Towelheads could become a thing of the past.
NEW YORK (CAP) - A call by the National Interscholastic Athletic Association for high school teams to abandon mascots based on a racial or ethnic group has met with resistance from teams as far removed from each other as the Dracester, Mass. *Chieftans*, the Craigsville, N.D. *Red Raiders* and the Muntsfield, Ala. *Fighting Hebrews*. "I don't think there is anything about our nickname that is derogatory or insulting to African Americans," said Alan Manderville, superintendent of schools for Redmond, Md., whose sports teams are called the *Savage Africans*. "Having said that, I'm not an African American and I can't speak for how they feel. In fact, I can't recall even ever having met one." sports NEWS Hundreds Of Dismayed Oakland Raiders Fans Wander Off <http://www.cap-news.com/story.php?id=201411001> NFL Player Caught On Film Hitting Every Button In Elevator <http://www.cap-news.com/story.php?id=201409010> NFL Reduces League Tolerance Of Bullying By Over 17% <http://www.cap-news.com/story.php?id=201408008> World Foosball Cup Comes To Poland Amid Controversy <http://www.cap-news.com/story.php?id=201406006> NHL To Allow Brass Knuckles During Fights <http://www.cap-news.com/story.php?id=201203014> Often the teams point to their mascots as a tribute to the ethnic group in question. For instance, many towns say that Native American mascots, like *Sachems* or *Chiefs*, are meant to honor a town's history and the early cooperation between Native Americans and settlers prior to all the genocide. And the aforementioned *Fighting Hebrews* of Muntsfield say they are paying respects to the Jews who loaned the early settlers the money to found the town, before their shops were burned and they were driven from the area, according to Fred Davis, president of the Fighting Hebrew Boosters Association. Davis also noted that the potentially more controversial name of the *Fighting Christ Killers* was rejected by the school board by a vote of 4-3. But that argument doesn't fly with everyone. Peter Schaffer, director of the National Anti-Mascot Coalition, pointed to a declaration made by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in 2001 that the elimination of such nicknames and images as sports mascots would benefit all Americans by getting rid of racial stereotypes. "I'm fairly confident that eliminating these team names would completely eradicate racial insensitivity in this country," said Schaffer. "Except, you know, for Mel Gibson." Schaffer has quite a fight ahead of him, though, based on the resistance of teams who in some cases have held these names for close to a century without a complaint. Dick Reynolds and Martin Cronk, coaches of neighboring football teams in Iowa called the *Dangerous Spics* and the *Drunken Sambos*, respectively, say they didn't even know their mascot names had racial overtones. "We just thought they were catchy," said Cronk, whose Sambos went 9-1 last season, losing their final game to the Merchant, Iowa *Chinamen*. "The running joke is that when the Chinamen beat you, they want to play again in an hour," said Cronk with a laugh. "Wait - was that insensitive?" he added. TODAY'S TOP STORIES Scientists Find 'Telephone Interrupt' Gene In Kids <http://www.cap-news.com/story.php?id=200903004> Over 100,000 New Year's Resolutions Broken This Week <http://www.cap-news.com/story.php?id=201503002> Spelling Bees To Start Allowing Misspelled Words <http://www.cap-news.com/story.php?id=201103006> ISIS Draws Beards, Mustaches On American Currency <http://www.cap-news.com/story.php?id=201503001> Employers Back Merit Based Contraception Coverage <http://www.cap-news.com/story.php?id=201203009> [image: Fake Advertisement] CAP NEWS TICKER Pope Francis gives America nine months to "clean up your gays" ahead of his visit next fall CBS cancels new Bill Cosby show, "Women Make The Darnedest Allegations" CAUGHT ON FILM [image: @JustinBieber #ButCanHeSpellIt] Justin Bieber performs community service by helping to teach local first-graders some basic math. TO UNSUBSCRIBE, HIT REPLY AND ASK TO BE REMOVED FROM FUTURE MAILINGS. -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
