American Sports Teams. Pressure has been put on several teams to change their names because of implied ethnic slurs,mainly against Native Americans.Among these sports franchises are the Atlanta Braves,the Washington Redskins,the Kansas City Chiefs,and the Cleveland Indians.College teams like the Florida State Seminoles and the University of Utah Utes have also been criticized.Now,to me this exemplifies both extremes of the "politically correct" argument.Most people are aware that "redskin" is a derisive term roughly equivalent to "nigger".How the Washington team has held on to this name is beyond me- I believe it should be changed.The Cleveland Indians use a logo that features a stereotyped grinning "injun" that I believe Native Americans rightly find offensive.But what the heck is the problem with "Braves","Chiefs","Seminoles",and "Utes"? The first two have positive connotations,seeming to link the strength,nobility and courage of the Native American to that of their respective teams.And surely using the names of tribes like the Seminoles and Utes pays homage to these native inhabitants of Florida and Utah?Again,those who reasonably object to inappropriate terms take too broad a view,thus throwing their entire motives into doubt.

And again,the Irish stereotype seems immune to the objection of Irish-Americans.Both the Boston Celtics and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish feature fierce little cartoon Irishmen with shamrocks in their hats,buckles on their shoes,and fists exiended pugnaciously.