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The NCAA should make short work of removing the University of Utah from its list of nickname offenders.
Honestly, what’s wrong with “Utes?”
Quite simply, use of the name honors one of the nation’s great Indian tribes. Besides, it has been used for years with the approval of the tribe. If those who are “Utes” don’t object to being identified with University of Utah athletic teams, can there be any legitimate justification for keeping the U on the list?
Absolutely not!
So, KSL believes the University of Utah is right to appeal the ruling, and we urge the NCAA Executive Committee to come to its senses and acknowledge there is nothing “hostile and abusive” about the nickname “Utes.”
Beyond that, let the NCAA Executive Committee focus its attention on more pressing matters.
For one, what’s being done to improve the graduation rate among student athletes? And what measures are being taken to prevent a proliferation of enhancement performing drugs? And with regards to football, will values such as fairness and equity rather than monetary greed determine their system for choosing a national champion?
So, yes! Make short work of exonerating the Utah Utes, and then move on to deal more ardently with a few of those issues that genuinely demand attention.
