kvinbe

Fighting Hawks prey on and eat Gophers. Good enough for me.

Yes, I know. I was being sarcastic. Jeez!! Let's all chill-out a little and be civil here.

Thanks! I appreciate the clarification. Now if we can just figure out a way to start hosting NCAA playoff games again.

It is my understanding that the uniforms all have something relating to the Fighting Sioux logo and nickname...even if it is just a small logo that is not prominent. If this is still the case, all such logos would have to be removed for playoff competition. I hope that this would still satisfy the wording of the law. As I said in a prior post, I don't want UND and its student-athletes to have to suffer further under this controversey.

I hope you're right on this one. Under the current legal circumstances, UND and its student-athletes are already suffering enough.

Is it your particular legal interpretion that state law does not require either the logo or nickname on the uniforms, or is that generally accepted as legally factual by those on either side of this issue? Couldn't it just as easily be argued that the law requires the logo and/or nickname on the uniforms in order to meet the wording of the law?

I wasn't aware that state law allowed UND to NOT display the logo. Are you sure that it allows UND to go without the logo on the uniforms?

Maybe someone out there can help me out on this one. It is my current understanding that current state law (which was repealed, but is now again active due to the petition) mandates use of the Fighting Sioux name by UND sports teams. It is also my understanding that the settlement with the NCAA and NCAA policy mandate forfeiture of NCAA playoff games if the Fighting Sioux name continues to be used by UND sports teams. Thus, either state law or the NCAA will have to be defied by UND if we qualify for NCAA playoff competition. There is no longer any middle ground on this issue. Legally, UND is now in the position of either having to defy the NCAA and forfeit playoff games, or defy state law. This is my current interpretation of the facts before us. If my understanding of the current legal situation is wrong, I look foward to being corrected.

This has been such a difficult issue for all of us who have cheered for and supported the Fighting Sioux over the years...especially those of us who attended UND. I know we all had to come to terms with the facts in our own time, but it just saddens me that this issue had to be pushed for at least an additional year when the facts were clear to see at the time of the settlement. Now it may be in the hands of the "haters," the completely self-serving, those that have completely lost perspective, and those that have no connection to UND and its tradition at all. But that's "water under the bridge" now. I don't see any point in assigning blame at this point. It's not going to help. I just hope those who are genuinely concerned with UND as a whole can now band together and ensure that the name and logo are respectfully retired. It's time to stop fighting with each other and to start working together to make sure the right and reasonable thing is accomplished for UND and the state of North Dakota. The facts need to be made clear to those who are still ignorant of the realities involved.

Actually, I respect Hakstol a great deal...as a hockey coach. But, his divisive behavior on this issue has been unacceptable, and he hasn't been held accountable. Last time I checked, he doesn't let his players get away with a lack of accoutability, and neither should he. I'm just telling it like it is. When it comes to this issue, he's the pink elephant in the living room that nobody has the guts to talk about. Hakstol has said nothing at this point publicly to make anyone think he has changed his position in the slightest way. If anything, his silence is evidence of his still not backing the overall interests of UND and all of UND athletics as a whole.

It is now time for UND's coaches to begin speaking out on this issue. It is still very disturbing to me that our very own hockey coach was a driving force behind getting the legislation passed in the first place. How could he have not considered what it would do to the other sports teams on campus and UND as a whole? It's time for people like him to now eat some humble pie, man-up, and do the right thing. He needs to speak publicly about the importance of retiring the name and logo. The effort needs to be unified at this point, and the hockey program needs to get out there and publicly support the retiring of the name and logo. It is shocking to me that our hockey coach can lobby for Minnesota and Wisconsin to continue to schedule UND when just a short time ago he was sending out emails in a last-minute effort to save the name and logo. It was shockingly self-serving and shockingly short-sighted. And now it's as though this is all coming as a surprise to him. Unbelievabe!! Hakstol is always talking about the importance of character in his players. It's now time that he showed some character on this issue in a very public way!!

It is now time for UND's coaches to begin speaking out on this issue. It is still very disturbing to me that our very own hockey coach was a driving force behind getting the legislation passed in the first place. How could he have not considered what it would do to the other sports teams on campus and UND as a whole? It's time for people like him to now eat some humble pie, man-up, and do the right thing. He needs to speak publicly about the importance of retiring the name and logo. The effort needs to be unified at this point, and the hockey program needs to get out there and publicly support the retiring of the name and logo. It is shocking to me that our hockey coach can lobby for Minnesota and Wisconsin to continue to schedule UND when just a short time ago he was sending out emails in a last-minute effort to save the name and logo. It was shockingly self-serving and shockingly short-sighted. And now it's as though this is all coming as a surprise to him. Unbelievabe!! Hakstol is always talking about the importance of character in his players. It's now time that he showed some character on this issue in a very public way!!

Has anybody else out there considered the possibility that some state citizens may vote in support of the Sioux name and logo out of spite for UND as an institution? There are small-minded people out there who will vote to keep the name and logo in effect because they are aware of the ongoing damage it will do to UND and how it will weaken it in relation to other institutions such as NDSU and UMN. This issue could be decided by the haters rather than by those who either genuinely support or oppose the name and logo. UND may end up being UNDone by those who vote the Sioux name and logo into law out of spite. How ironic that those who have hated the "UND Fighting Sioux" over the years may play a large role in seriously damaging UND by voting in support of "Fighting Sioux" as a name and logo.

I am so flipping tired of this whole thing. It's wearing me down. It's wearing everybody down. I don't even know who is on which side anymore. The only thing I know for sure is that the longer this goes on, the more UND and its students will lose. It is clear that the NCAA and particular member institutions are not going to back down, and that there is no future legal mandate that can require them to do so. Even if the Sioux name and logo are affirmed by a popular vote and a constitutional amendment, it still won't force the NCAA's hand. It still will not have the effect of a particular tribal council coming forward and authorizing the name and logo for ongoing, future use. As I interpret the facts, UND is now in violation of the NCAA agreement and our athletic teams will begin to be sanctioned. This means that UND teams will not be able to host playoff games this Spring, and that UND will not be able to participate in playoff games with the Sioux name and logo on it's uniforms. Our athletes, students, and university are now beginning to suffer in a very concrete way. Somebody please tell me who exactly is winning by pushing this issue further still. When will people just let it go already? I'm starting to think the answer to this question is "never." How sad for UND and its students.

It's a classic case of biting off your nose to spite your face. Let it be known that I very much support the Sioux name on merit alone. However, this is no longer about merit regarding the name alone. This is now about something so much different than that. This has now become about politics, pure and simple. It's a political battle that has already been lost at the national level, and now the only people that stand to be harmed are North Dakota citizens and student athletes. Let it go!!! Though not warranted, we are now moving dangerously close to being viewed in the same light as those who stubbornly and irrationally held on to the belief that the rebel flag should be retained in Southern culture, universities, and states. Before, we had just lost the battle because we had retained our digniity and our athletic programs would continue to thrive and beat the pulp out of the programs of PC institutions. But now, by forcing the issue still further, we're about to lose the war. Ultimately, it's about conducting ourselves in a classy manner as North Dakotans. Unfortunately, any sense of class and dignity that is associated with the great state of North Dakota is about to go right down the gutter because of a relentless, irrational zeal that has lost all perspecitve. I'm a North Dakotan. I'm proud to be a North Dakotan. It's time to show some class and dignity as North Dakotans. Let's take out our frustrations on the playing field. That's where we'll get the last word...not in the legislature and a protracted political battle.