The Fighting Sioux will have to rebrand after the Board of Education voted to retire the offensive nickname and logo
The three prong dispute between North Dakota, the state legislature, and the NCAA regarding the North Dakota nickname Fighting Sioux comes to an end after much legal and political debate. North Dakota’s Board of Higher Education will retire the school nickname and logo come 2012.
With the general population becoming overly sensitive with just about everything and the threat that lawmakers would repeal a law that required the school to not change its nickname and logo, there was growing concern that the Fighting Sioux’s nickname and logo depicting an American Indian warrior offended some of the locals and the history of the state.
The offensive nickname and logo in question.
To temper the sensitivity, earlier in the year, the school voted to phase out the nickname and logo and to rebrand university athletics. Thinking the school was in the clear, the state legislature chimed in by enacting a law that required UND to retain its current name and logo. However, Gov. Jack Dalrymple was displeased with this legislation and called for a special session this November to repeal that very law.
Then comes the NCAA. In a lawsuit filed back in October 2007, which was eventually settled, it was required that the school drop the nickname this month or it would face sanctions including but not limited to hosting postseason tournaments and banning the wearing of certain school uniforms that depicted the offensive nickname and logo.
The NCAA was well aware of the state’s legislature position and was sensitive to the school’s predicament. However, with UND joining the Big Sky Conference in 2012 and entering Division I athletics in all sports, this move proved too much for UND and forced the state’s Board of Higher Education to retire the nickname and logo.
Fortunately for the Fighting Sioux faithful, this messy debate can be put to rest. So get your gear quick, as it will soon be a memory.
Unfortunately, this case is a reminder that schools and professional teams will continue to face scrutiny for what some deem as offensive. If you have any doubt, just look no further than the Florida State Seminoles or the NFL’s Washington Redskins.
The reality is, every team name can somehow be offensive to a particular person or group, but the line has to be drawn somewhere. The question is, who draws that line?
