Top 10 Sports Teams with the Most Unacceptable Names and Logos
I have nothing against any of these sports teams. I have no biases while making this list, and some of these teams are great, with amazing players. However, their names and/or logos are unacceptable, usually involving some form of discrimination or the crude use of First Nations imagery, and they need to be changed.
I did not include the Washington Football Team, now known as the Washington Commanders, because they have already changed their discriminatory name and logo. I have also excluded other teams that have since addressed similar issues.
So, let's list the top ten. Enjoy!
-
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They compete in the Central Division of the Western Conference in the National Hockey League. Since their founding in 1926, the Blackhawks have won six Stanley Cup championships, with their most recent title coming... read more
The logo is almost an exact mirror image of the Washington football team's. The lone defense is that the team is named not after Native Americans but the World War One-era U.S. Army division "The Black Hawks," which in turn took its name from a Sauk Indian chief.
-
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball franchise based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The team competes in Major League Baseball as a member of the National League East division. They play their home games at Truist Park, which was known as SunTrust Park until its name changed in... read more
The team had a mascot called Chief Noc-A-Homa, a really stupid idiot "imitating" an Indigenous person, and he used to reside in a teepee in the bleachers, which is another pretty bad thing. There was the terrible "Tomahawk Chop" incident, which was making fun of a person with Indigenous heritage, which just adds to it all.
Also, the logo!
-
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference West division. They have won seven league championships, including four Super Bowl titles following the 1969... read more
There are a few glaringly obvious problems with this. The logo contains an arrowhead, which is yet another crude reference to Indigenous people. They play at Arrowhead Stadium, which is just as bad, and their horse is named "Warpaint," which is another reference to First Nations and their culture.
-
Alcorn State Braves
After a 2005 NCAA ruling banning Native American mascots in postseason play, several Division I schools ditched everything Native American except their names, including this one. The term "braves" derives from Native American scouts who served alongside U.S. cavalry troops. A respectful tribute? Not really.
It's still "a one-dimensional representation of people" that plays right into a stereotype, even if it is ostensibly a positive one, says an expert on the situation, Professor Blackhawk.
-
San Diego State Aztecs
The San Diego State Aztecs represent San Diego State University in collegiate athletics. They compete primarily in the Pac-12 Conference and are known for their football and men's basketball programs. Their official school colors are scarlet and black.
This, unlike the disgusting Cleveland Indians, has made some changes to fix their racist stuff. I'll give them that. Mascot Zuma has retired, at the very least. But otherwise, this is still a pretty bad name and logo.
The team retains an arrowhead in the logo, referencing First Nations. The fight song mentions Montezuma, which is not okay, and other traditions reference the Mexican tribes, as well as the name "Aztecs."
-
William & Mary Tribe
I don't know where the William and Mary came from, but the two feathers are an obvious reference to Indigenous people, as well as the "Tribe" in the name.
The College of William and Mary was named after Queen Mary II and her husband King William III. Interesting choice for this institution to be named The Tribe. - SteelCity99
-
Utah Utes
The sports teams of the University of Utah, known as the Utes, compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Big 12 Conference. The university is particularly recognized for its skiing and gymnastics programs, which have won multiple national championships. Their official team colors are red and... read more
The team is named after the Native American tribe indigenous to their region, and though they have received those tribes' official permission, that doesn't mean we shouldn't care. Plus, the feathers on the Utes logo are pretty bad as well.
It doesn't rank too high only due to the fact that they had permission, but I still think it's unacceptable.
-
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football franchise based in Seattle, Washington. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West division. ... read more
The Seahawks "respectfully" got their logo from the totems of First Nations, as well as the name "Seahawks." I don't think they asked permission to use that name, respectfully or not, so it definitely is still a fairly unacceptable name.
But the logo is pretty cool, so I can't hate them too much.
-
Illinois Fighting Illini
The Illinois Fighting Illini represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. They compete in the Big Ten Conference and have a long tradition, especially in men's basketball. Their official team colors are orange and blue, and they have had no official mascot since Chief Illiniwek was retired... read more
It hasn't been proven that this name is racist, but it's pretty obvious that it is, evidence or not. The Illini were a group of First Nations tribes, but it is not clear whether the name originated as a reference to Native Americans. It's likely because what else would it be named after?
They even had a mascot called Chief Illiniwek, clearly a crude imitation of a First Nations chief, which has to be enough evidence, though they dropped him in 2007.
-
Florida State Seminoles
Representing Florida State University, the Seminoles compete in NCAA Division I athletics as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They are known for their strong football and baseball programs, with football claiming three national championships and baseball making numerous College World Series... read more
-
Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. They compete in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Eastern Conference's Southeast Division. The team was originally established as the Chicago Packers in 1961 before relocating and becoming... read more
-
El Paso Chihuahuas