“Warriors” Was OK With the Indians For A While

Marquette has been claiming that the use of “Warriors” as a nickname is somehow offensive to the “dignity” of American Indians, but the very same “Spokesperson” whom Marquette allowed to dictate the outcome of the issue didn’t always see it that way. From Dale Hofman of the Journal-Sentinel:

In this space about eight months ago, Ray DePerry, the president of the Great Lakes Inter-tribal Council, said he had an open mind on the Marquette image.

“If it’s some vicious dog, and the dog’s name is Warrior, I have no problem,” he said. “If it’s a people thing, now we’re talking about something different. . . . No people. No ethnic group. If it’s Warriors, let’s be creative and see what we can come up with.”

Wild and friends met with the Inter-tribal Council a week later, and it appears the American Indians had changed their minds by then and made it clear that they were against Warriors under any circumstances. Several attempts to reach DePerry to find out why that might have been were unsuccessful Thursday.

If “Warriors” is so obviously an affront to the “dignity” of Indians, how come DePerry didn’t see it that way immediately?

It seems that the issue was open until it became clear that Marquette was entirely craven on the issue, and that the Indians could bully the University if they wanted.