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‘Brave is not a derogatory term’

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12:45 PM Friday, February 5, 2010

It was reported in the Jan. 29 issue of the Miami Student that a coalition is trying to change the name of the Talawanda Braves and “request that the mascot be neutral in ethnicity and gender.”

Their request fails on 3 points; 1) Brave is not a derogatory term, 2) I doubt that any coalition member has a “stake” in this, meaning no Native American heritage, and finally, they would have no financial stake in the name change.

The term brave denotes a person of courage and admiration within a tribe, a warrior capable of defending and protecting his people. Hardly a negative term, as the coalition members would lead you to believe.

Second, I would say that those of Native American heritage who are offended should be the ones petitioning the school district for a name change, not a bunch of meddling liberals. I am part Cherokee, and I am not offended. I spoke to Chief Floyd Leonard of the Miami Indians during the controversy of changing Miami’s mascot to RedHawks (which our P.C. friends failed to realize is also the model name for a .44 caliber handgun). Even Chief Leonard did not have a problem with the Miami mascot being the Redskins, but Miami caved to the cries of the few instead of listening to those it affected.

Finally, the coalition is advocating this without getting their wallets involved.

Miami had a considerable expense in their name change including the R&D of the new logo, signage, installation and letterhead. And many Miami alumni were incensed enough that they withheld or withdrew their donations to the University.

If this coalition is so devoted to this mission, let’s let them pick up the tab for all of the costs involved in this lunacy. I don’t think we need to spend tax payer dollars on this.

I would hope that our school board agrees with these points and recognizes that there are much more important issues within the school district than the self flagellating whines of a vocal minority.

Michael L. Schnipper

Oxford

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