McGEE: What goes into choosing a school’s mascot

warm and fuzzy mascot than a tiger. As the story went, the students were incensed at the teacher’s demands and chose the stupidest, most insane mascot they could think of. The faculty, however, decided that a Kewpie was better than a Tiger and thus a ridiculous mascot was born. How this other story made it onto the press wires probably has something to do with liberal journalists not wanting to make other liberal fellow travelers look bad in print.

While we have meandered onto the subject of liberal demands with regards to school mascots, we don’t have to look outside our state to see the results of that. The Arkansas State Indians became the Arkansas State Red Wolves in 2010 when the NCAA decreed that no NCAA team could participate in any playoffs or championships in sports if they had an Indian or native American mascot.

I know of no official native American organization that had a problem with Arkansas State’s mascots or anyone else’s for that matter. As a matter of fact, the Seminole tribe of Florida made an appeal to the NCAA that the Florida State Seminoles be left alone as they considered the mascot status a great honor to their tribe. Being part Cherokee myself, I did not have a problem with Indian mascots, anymore that I have with the Fightin’ Irish of Notre Dame mascot even though I have quite a bit of Irish blood.

Anyone reading the news much anymore can’t help but notice the plethora of people all over the country claiming victim status. The number of people perceiving slights or taking umbrage at the most innocuous of comments has become legion. The theory of micro-aggressive behavior is being taught at major universities, teaching clueless students that people (mostly white people) do and say aggressive, abusive things without even knowing it.

Perhaps living or working in a community like Pea Ridge has become as unusual as the school’s mascot. If that is true, it is to the country’s detriment.

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This column was first published in 2011. John McGee, an award-winning columnist, sports writer and art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, writes a regular sports column for

The Times. The opinions expressed are those of the writer. He can be contacted through The Times at prtnews@nwadg.com.