Robert Wild: Grasping at Straws to Defend Nickname Fiasco

The current (Summer 2005) issue of Marquette has a longish interview with Marquette President Robert Wild, S.J., in which some fairly tough questions are asked about the process that caused Marquette to first dump, and then return to the nickname Golden Eagles.

Wild, clearly on the defensive, tries to put the best face on a fiasco.

Admitting that it caused a lot of hard feeling, he claims that when the University finally asked for active involvement things were just fine:

People quickly calmed down when we announced that we were going to continue the process and get them actively involved in this choice of determining a suitable nickname for our athletics teams. What amazed me more than anything else was that with the announcement of the new process, a very active group called Students for Warriors promptly disbanded. For many of our students, what was more important was the Board’s willingness to take seriously their concerns and respond appropriately.

In reality, Students for Warriors disbanded promptly because their Charter required them to disband when the choice as to whether to return to Warriors was made.

Wild is in denial about went on.

The “involvement” of the Marquette community was conditioned on the fact that the nickname that the vast majority wanted was outlawed. After that happened, it was just going through the motions.