LAST WORD

We should take advantage of this moment to think about the place of college football on our campuses and what higher education’s relationship with the game should be going forward.”

Arizona State professor Victoria Jackson, saying she believes there should be no college football in 2020-21, and not just because of the coronavirus risks for players and staff. Jackson, the NCAA 10,000-meter track champion when she competed for ASU from 2004-06, believes the confluence of social rights protests, college athletes’ rights issues and the COVID-19 pandemic are an opportunity to examine football’s position and role. Jackson is a sports historian and clinical assistant professor in the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies.

The commercial use of images and words that evoke Native cultures perpetuates racism and legitimizes racist acts. As the Washington football team navigates its way forward under pressure from sponsors, the mayor of the city it claims to represent and many other Americans working to build a fairer society, we strongly support sports teams and other organizations that end the use of Native American imagery depicting racism. Let’s get this right.

From a statement on “Ending the Use of Racist Mascots and Images” from the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.