[Previous entry: "US sees tide turn on Iraq insurgents"] [Main Index] [Next entry: "Dean had own secret energy group"]

12/29/2003 Archived Entry: "Football tourney under fire for team names"

Posted by steve @ 01:44 AM EST [Link]

WHY NOT CALL YOURSELVES THE 9/11 BOYS?: A firestorm recently erupted in California after it was learned that a Muslim football tournament included some teams with names like Intifada, Soldiers of Allah and Mujahideen. The organizers are shocked -- shocked! -- that some people would take offense to something as wholesome as those names!

Muslim leaders have asked the teams to reconsider the names.

"Sensitizing our youths is our role as adults," said Hussam Ayloush, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Southern California.

But he also said he believed the players were not being malicious when they decided the names.

"In this case, the choices were totally innocent and meant for a small intra-Muslim tournament whose members all knew what the terms stand for," Ayloush said. "Unfortunately, we are aware that a few of those terms are being tainted by the abominable actions of a few Muslims."

Yes Mr. Ayloush, and "gay" means happy but I don't know many people who use the word in its proper context. "Intifada" and "Mujahideen" have very different meanings for everyone these days.

That said, this reminds me of back in high school when we were organizing a floor hockey team for an intramural competition. The faculty was shocked -- shocked! -- when we decided our team name would be "The Canis Lupus Majors". Now the learned in the audience will immediately recognize that canis lupus refers to wolves but apparently the faculty, including one particularly moronic vice principle who bore a small resemblance to Pat Sajak, thought it referred to the Evil Weed, marijuana. Needless to say the brain trust blocked our team name though that didn't stop us from handily winning the tournament.

Now we shouldn't go on a, ahem, crusade against these youths for making some unfortunate choices in team names but nor should we make claims that they weren't being provactive with those names.

Read on.