Not all pre-game rallies will simply be in praise of Brutus and the Buckeyes this Saturday. The rally by the OSU chapter of the National Coalition on Racism in Sports and the Media is an example.
“The rally is going to be a celebration of our great team and our great mascot Brutus,” said Barry Landeros-Thomas, coordinator of American Indian Student Services.
“It will also be concerning the continued use of racist and stereotypical mascots by sports team, such as the University of Illinois’ Chief Illiniwek and the harm that it continues to do daily to indigenous people,” he said.
While occurring before OSU’s football game against the University of Illinois, Landeros-Thomas said the rally also falls in the middle of American Indian Heritage Month.
“In the midst of all of the great activities, speakers, musicians and artists we have coming to help raise awareness of indigenous culture on campus, a team that staunchly refuses to admit racism of their mascot and the harm it does to native people is coming to perpetuate stereotypes,” he said.
Joe Connolly, president of Ohio State’s chapter of NCRSM, said the rally is going to be about more than just Chief Illiniwek. There are also 218 schools in Ohio with racist mascots, he said.
“On a most basic level, these mascots de-humanize and objectify native people, somehow making indigenous people less than human,” Landeros-Thomas, said. “The antics that fans and these mascots perform would not be tolerated by any other group of people. Can you imagine the Illinois ‘Fighting Japanese’ or the ‘Fighting Jews?’ “
Bill Murphy, associate chancellor for public affairs at the University of Illinois, said the University of Illinois Board of Trustees has received thousands of letters demanding the retirement of Chief Illiniwek. In response, the board was given a report in 2000 about the letters.
“In response to the report, each trustee gave a personal response,” Murphy said. “The chairman asked Trustee (Roger) Plummer to report back on these issues. The board is waiting to hear back from Plummer before deciding on whether other steps need to be taken.”
Connolly said both the University of Iowa and University of Wisconsin have taken steps to cut down offensive names in college mascots.
“They both made the statement they would not schedule games against teams with offensive names except for the University of Illinois, due to Big Ten rules,” he said.
Murphy said the school saw an increase in letters and e-mails after the release of “In Whose Honor?” a documentary by Jay Rosenstein, discussing American Indian sports mascots.
“It elevated the issue quite a bit,” he said. “We tend to have a steady stream of comments on this issue.”
Murphy said Chief Illiniwek originated when an Illinois marching band member dressed up to perform during halftime.
Landeros-Thomas said the rally is not an attack specifically on the University of Illinois.
“The rally is not only targeted against Illinois, but against all racist depiction of native people,” he said. “Illinois is the only Big Ten team to persist in using such a symbol.”
The rally is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Tuttle Park Place, near Ives Hall.
