Today in America, from elementary schools to high schools from colleges to professional league sports, we have given a mascot name to each. Nothing is meant by the mascot's name except to show pride and support for the team or school that you are behind and what qualities the people believe that team should hold. I believe that sports team names that are named after a certain ethnicity should not be changed, because in my opinion the names are not given to show disrespect. Some Native Americans seem to show resentment to names such as the "Indians," "Braves" and "Warriors." I was always brought up to believe that a mascot name was given to a team to exemplify the virtues that the team wishes to hold. When I heard of the Braves, for example, I never once thought of the team name as a disrespectful remark towards the Native Americans. I always thought of them as courageous, brave, resourceful and powerful people.
             Many of the American mascots that exist today are named after a number of things-animals, industries, and historical figures, some ethnically linked (2). We have the Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers, Green Pay Packers, Boston Celtics, Florida Marlins, and Minnesota Vikings just to name a few. These names are not meant to show disrespect for what they have been named after, but for the traits that they have been acknowledged for. Being from Texas, I have gotten a lot of grief about riding my horse to school and living on a farm, all which symbolize a cowboy. There are still many "cowboys" in Texas and other parts of the United States that are nonetheless offended when they are cheering on the Dallas team.
             Roger Clegg stated that it seems unusual that naming a team after the Native American Indians was an insult.
             This is, in fact, a remarkable situation when you think about it. The white man comes, takes the Indians' land, kills Indians, and is killed by them. A...