Abstract |
Since the passage of the 1964 US Civil Rights Act, insensitive cultural imagery has received ever-increasing scrutiny and opposition, thus many US universities have reconsidered their usage of culturally insensitive athletic mascots (CIAM). A primary goal of this article was to present information on the adoption, evolution, opposition, and, in most cases, transition away from CIAM. Regarding the historic usage and evolution of specific CIAM’s, this article will provide a detailed examination of Chief Illiniwek (University of Illinois), Colonel Reb (University of Mississippi), and The Fighting Souix (University of North Dakota). Another goal was to explore the opinions of traditional-age college students in academic majors related to sport leadership. In order to explore this topic, a survey (N = 142) was conducted regarding sport science student reactions to graphic images of CIAM. This survey was conducted to examine the potential effect of Color Blind Racial Ideology (CBRI) regarding CIAM. These findings provide support to the theory that future sport leaders also tend to exhibit CBRI related to school-based athletic mascots where dominant ethnic group perspectives have been the traditional viewpoint.
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