A little less nose first of all.

[Plane]

http://news.msn.com/us/california-school-retires-divisive-arab-mascot

The hook-nosed, snarling mascot who wears a head scarf did not appear at Coachella Valley High School's season opening football game Friday. A belly-dancing genie that often appears with the mascot was also retired.

The Desert Sun reports (http://desert.sn/1B2qPVZ ) the change among the steps the Coachella Valley Unified School District is taking to give the mascot a makeover.

The Arab mascot has existed since the 1920s to recognize the desert region's reliance on date farming, a traditionally Middle Eastern crop. It came under fire last November when the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee complained that the mascot was stereotypical.

The school district refused to change the school's "Arabs" nickname, but agreed to redesign the Arab face on the school logo.

[Xavier_Onassis]

I find this rather amusing.

I can see that the cartoon logo is clearly an unpleasant stereotype, but doing away with the belly dancer seems a bit excessive.

Imagine if the called the team the JEWS and the logo looked like a typical Nazi rendition of a Jew with the nose, forelocks, prayer shawl and black hat.

On the other hand, for some reason, no one complaints about the rather nasty little feisty Leprechaun that Notre Dame has used for years. He is surely an Irish stereotype.

And stereotypes of Scotsmen and Vikings never seem to get criticized.

[Plane]

Imagine if the called the team the JEWS and the logo looked like a typical Nazi rendition of a Jew with the nose, forelocks, prayer shawl and black hat.

  JEWS vs Raiders

  JEWS vs Vikings
 
    JEWS vs Packers

     JEWS vs Redskins

       JEWS vs Philadelphia Soul


   This is a great idea!

     What city would adopt the Jews?

[Xavier_Onassis]

Miami Beach, Beverly Hills, Certainly parts of NYC. But I really doubt that anyone will ever name a team "The XXXX Jews."

Jews are not noted for being particularly good at contact sports. At least as a stereotype.

For that matter, neither are Arabs.

Opa-Locka FL was built with Arabian Knights style architecture. I think Glenn Curtis of Curtis-Wright aviation was one of the financiers.  In the 1920's, Egyptian and Arabian motifs were very popular. Arabs were not all that popular, most Americans had never seen one. The most popular Arabian Knight type was Rudolph Valentino Jews have never been notably stylish as a group.

There are hundreds of Jewish actors and others that changed their names to something less Jewish.

The only person I know to adopt a Jewish name was Caryn Johnson, aka Whoopi Goldberg. She originally tried Whoopi Cushion, but Goldberg won out.

[Plane]

    Well the players need not be actual Jews anymore than they need to be actual Packers , Bears , Rams or  Tigers.



Jews are indeed notorious fighters
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imi_Lichtenfeld

     I suppose the design of cheerleader uniforms would be problematic.

[Xavier_Onassis]

There may be formidable fighters among the Jews, but they do not fit the stereotype, just as teetolating and pacifist Irish do not fit the stereotype.

Team mascots are in essence fierce stererotypes.

The team called the Arabs, because they farm dates, do not fit the stereotype of fierceness. People who pluck dates from palms are not stereotypically fierce.

I don't think there are too many teams named for timid animals like The Rabbits, the Hares, the Bunnies, the  Fraidy Cats, the Lemmings, the Voles, the Fieldmice, the Chickens, the Chickens, the Scurrying Cockroaches are not common mascot names.

[Plane]

   Scurrying cockroaches sounds like a winner. You would have to feel sorry for the guy that had to wear the mascot suit.

Anyone who does not think Cockroaches can be scary has never been to Florida.


    You would think Padres would be winners .


   There is just too much here, by googeling ":silly mascots" I have been handed a plethora.
http://www.urlesque.com/2010/07/15/awkward-mascots/

[Xavier_Onassis]

Cockroaches can indeed be scary, but people do not identify with roaches. They would be a good mascot for the "enemy" team, but not the home team.

UMiami's Stanley the Ibis wears one of the more ridiculous mascot suits.

In 1926, a Hurricane  leveled Miami, and there was a single disheveled ibis wandering about the ruins of the University. So they made him a mascot.

Ibises are very hardy birds. At the zoos, they get into the flamingo pens and eat flamingo food and turn pink, like flamingos.

Every once in a while, I se one in my yard, hunting for bugs and lizards.