Indian mascot ban gains ground in California legislature

A bill that would ban state public schools and universities from using American Indian mascots is progressing through the California state legislature. No other state has ever passed such a measure.

The bill would specifically prohibit the use of nicknames such as Indians, Redskins, Chiefs, Braves, Comanches and Apaches, and it would forbid institutions from using names and mascots deemed "derogatory" or "discriminatory" against any race, ethnicity, nationality or tribe. It also bans the use of "any other American Indian tribal name," thus ruling out names such as Sioux or Seminoles. The bill also includes a provision that, if passed, would permit the California state school board and the California Postsecondary Education Commission to jointly add other mascot names to the prohibited list.

Jackie Goldberg, a Democrat from Los Angeles, is the bill's sponsor.

In her introduction to the bill, Goldberg wrote that many people and organizations believe "the continued use of Native American images and nicknames in school sports is a barrier to equality and understanding" and that "all residents of the United States would benefit from the discontinuance of their use."

The bill would prohibit the purchase of new logos and other materials, such as uniforms, bearing the mascot or team name after January 2003. The bill also would not require schools to replace equipment, logos or stationery until it wears out.

The bill has passed nearly unopposed through two Assembly subcommittees. The state Assembly is expected to vote on the bill before the end of the month and pass it on to the state Senate.

According to Goldberg's office, only one organization has complained about the bill -- the California Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. That organization's chair, Mike Heffernan, a former high-school football coach, contacted Goldberg to indicate his opposition.

"It is too absolute, too one-sided," Heffernan told The Washington Times. "It doesn't leave room for the good use of mascots and doesn't take into consideration tradition."

Heffernan told the newspaper that he did not support the use of Redskins, but he thought banning tribal names was taking it too far.

"It's basically the central government of the state telling local authorities they can't do it," he said. "That should be left up to the local schools to decide."

A bill to ban Indian mascots in Wisconsin died in that state's legislature last year.

Studies show refs are susceptible to stress

When the game is on the line and the call really matters, the people making the call also could be making themselves sick.

A recent national study has confirmed that officiating basketball can be a tremendous stressor -- with that stress sometimes manifesting itself in illnesses and a variety of physical symptoms.

The study, titled "Coping methods of male and female NCAA Division I basketball referees under stressful game conditions," found that almost one in every four Division I referees experienced a stress-related illness late in the season.

The study also found that male referees experienced more than twice as many stress symptoms as female referees immediately after and up to 24 hours after a difficult game. Those symptoms included sleep disturbance, anger, lack of concentration and over- or under-eating.

Both male and female officials ranked positive self-talk as their most effective coping technique during pressure game situations, along with visualization and goal setting.

The study was conducted by Steve Brennan, president of Peak Performance Consultants, after the 1999-00 basketball season.

Nominees sought for coaching award

The National Distance Running Hall of Fame has announced a deadline of May 31 to nominate coaches for the Bill Bowerman Coaching Award.

Bowerman was a legendary track coach at the University of Oregon from 1949 to 1972, where he led the Ducks to four NCAA team championships and coached 64 all-Americans, 24 individual NCAA champions and 33 Olympians. Bowerman also was one of the founders of Nike and is credited with inventing a waffle-iron shoe sole that's still popular today. Bowerman died in 1999.

The award is given annually to a U.S. distance running coach who, as Bowerman was, also is an inspirational teacher.

For more information, see www.
bowermanawards.com.

Number crunching

Looking back

Initial volley

With a men's basketball dynasty already underway, the University of California, Los Angeles, began another one in men's volleyball in May 1970 by winning the inaugural National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship with a three-game sweep over Long Beach State University.

Coach Al Scates' team easily handled the 49ers, 15-7, 15-4, 15-8, after beating the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Ball State University to advance to the final.

UC Santa Barbara downed Ball State in the third-place match in the two-day tournament that was attended by 5,000 fans at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion, also home to the Bruins' national-champion men's basketball team.

A week earlier, Long Beach State won the West Regional, but UCLA was on top of its game in the national championship, losing only one game in the round-robin preliminaries and then sweeping the final.

Three Bruins -- Dane Holtzman, Kirk Kilgour and Ed Becker -- were named to the all-tournament team. Holtzman was named the tournament's most outstanding player. Also named to the all-tournament team were Long Beach State's Dodge Parker and Craig Froley, and Tom Boynge from UC Santa Barbara.

Since then, UCLA has been the dominant team in collegiate men's volleyball. Al Scates' Bruins have won 18 titles, more than four times the number won by any other team. In fact, UCLA has not gone more than three years without winning a title. UCLA players also have won the tournament's most outstanding player award more than players from any other school, led by two-time winners Karch Kiraly (1981, 1982), Ricci Luyties (1983, 1984) and Jeff