Politically correct NCAA draws fire

Nothing survived the topic inquiry.

For a brief moment I considered writing about the National Collegiate Athletic Association edict that certain Native American team names and mascots deemed “hostile and abusive” by the NCAA cannot be displayed at post season tournaments. Say what? Schools with certain Indian names are hostile and abusive only in the postseason; it’s OK to be hostile and abusive during the regular season?

Political correctness almost always is fair game for a Rusty Saber thrashing. In my judgment, this one is so foolish that it begs for a written tongue-lashing. Alas, so many commentators agree with my take on this bit of bureaucratic folly that most everything I would say already has been said.

There might be some Native American groups who are leading the cheers for this move, but I haven’t heard much of it. No, with the exception of a meager band of political-correctness aficionados, the response has been overwhelmingly unfavorable.

My wiseacre comments have been used over and over again. A Wall Street Journal column even pre-empted me on pointing out that the NCAA headquarters are located in Indianapolis, Indiana. How is that more or less hostile or offensive than the scheduled-to-be-banned Central Michigan University Chippewas?

The NCAA has appointed itself political correctness arbiter, leading many commentators to come forth with barbs in response, leaving me with nothing new to say. Well, not quite nothing.

If I were to write on this topic, I would suggest that religious people might say they find Duke University Blue Devils and Wake Forest Demon Deacons as hostile and abusive.

And, if I were to write on this subject, I would have suggested that all teams with the offensive ‘’red’’ in their nicknames could change to ‘’ecru.” Who could find fault with the Ecru Skins or Fighting Ecrus?

Otherwise, it’s all been said; I still need a topic.

Another option: Aug. 15 marked the 60th anniversary of Japan’s surrender to end World War II. Not a lot of noise was made about this significant event. You probably have seen the photos of the tumultuous celebrations 60 years ago when a world weary of war heard that it was all over.

The most famous image of the day is a picture taken by an alert photographer of two strangers, a sailor and a nurse in New York’s Times Square, locked in an enthusiastic kiss. That kiss was a fitting symbol of the end of a long and deadly war waged in Europe, Africa and Asia.

If I were to write on this subject, I would have said that the change brought on by peace 60 years ago was so vast that only the sailor and nurse who won that war, and the millions of great Americans like them, can truly comprehend. However, I would again be accused of being a hopeless, patriotic flag waver. Since I long ago pleaded guilty to being an avowed patriot, I probably need another topic.

Let’s see, it’s back to school time; I could write about that. I’m a bit like an old warhorse, long ago turned out to pasture, that hears the trumpet calling the cavalry to order and instinctively prepares to move before he realizes the call is no longer for him.

Having spent a lifetime teaching students, I hear talk of back-to-school activities, and this old warhorse perks up with thoughts of students in a classroom, ready to be challenged to think and perhaps learn. To the horse, it’s a matter of habit. Me, too.

No. This is a topic for a younger teaching warrior ready for today’s students.

Hopefully, a subject will come to me …

Joe McAdoo is former chairman of the communication department at Drury University.