Grand Forks Herald: Lawyer in UND nickname lawsuit: UND is laughingstock

William J. Brotherton, one of the lawyers in the nickname case that was thrown out of court, says that UND is a laughing stock for picking the nickname. Here's a snippet of this letter to the editor.

And what exactly is a Fighting Hawk? We have red-tailed hawks here in Texas, just like in North Dakota, and the only creatures I see hawks do battle with are crows and the occasional sparrow. This is certainly not the stuff of legend.

I argued in an earlier opinion piece that it was not too late for UND to do the right thing. Now that former Gov. Ed Schafer is going to be stepping in as the new interim president of UND, outgoing president Robert Kelley should suspend the nickname replacement process and keep UND/North Dakota as the nickname of our proud university.

We have become the laughingstock of the political correctness parade. Princeton University is going to remove the portrait of former U.S. president Woodrow Wilson for perceived racism. The University of Missouri president resigned when he wouldn’t renounce white privilege. Where does all this silliness end?

I would think that the University of Oklahoma will soon have to replace its vaunted Sooner nickname. After all, Sooners are the white settlers that raced across the state in the great Oklahoma land rush. And guess whose land they took?

Let’s do the right thing UND. Halt the nickname replacement process, keep the UND/North Dakota name for now, and let’s have a new vote to include that name as one of the selections. And let’s include the Sioux in any future votes, because as I’ve stated earlier and as described in our lawsuit against the university, both North Dakota Sioux tribes gave the Fighting Sioux name to UND in a sacred pipe ceremony held in 1969.

First, I don't see how Dickinson State is going to be able to tell UND they can't use Hawks? First, their mascot is a blue hawk, UND is the Fighting Hawks.

Grand Forks Herald: Tom Dennis Nails it

Check out Tom Dennis of the Grand Forks Herald for his latest. Dennis has had some good editorial articles lately and this one absolutely nails it. Bravo Tom!

Per the Grand Forks Herald:
First, fans would have to keep cheering for the Fighting Sioux; that may or may not continue as the years wear on.

Second, an opposing team would have to both take offense and also complain about the cheer, and neither of those .

occurrences is a sure thing, either..

Third, the NCAA would have to act on the complaint and make an issue of it in some way..

There's a fair chance that those circumstances never would add up. But in contrast, if UND tries to crack down on the cheering, then the odds of fans resenting the interference and probably even willfully defying it approach 100 percent. .

Ten years from now, the new nickname or the "UND/North Dakota" option will be solidly in place at UND, and the Fighting Sioux cheers at games likely will be few and far between. But the university should let this change unfold organically, rather than making fans even angrier by trying to hurry things along.