The University of Illinois has filed a second appeal challenging a decision of the NCAA that would require the school to drop its Chief Illiniwek athletic mascot and logo before it could host any postseason competition. (ESPN) Although the NCAA ruling allows the university to keep its Illini and Fighting Illini nicknames, it ruled that Chief Illiniwek is "hostile and abusive."I have covered this topic a great deal, usually opposing these types of sanctions (5/25/05). That being said, Chief Illiniwek does seem like a bit of a caricature. And the school gets to keep its nickname -- it just needs to change its mascot. I understand there is tradition at stake, but many teams change logos just for marketing purposes.
On the other hand, there seems to be a great deal of discrepancy in the NCAA policy. "Fighting Illini" is ok. But the NCAA has penalized North Dakota for its nickname -- "Fighting Sioux." And what about the "Fighting Irish," with an arguably far more-offensive caricature mascot. How is that at all different? Is it that most Irish are not offended by the nickname? Well, neither are most Native Americans (9/28/04). Seems like a double standard to me.