Florida State: Governor Blasts NCAA

Governor Blasts NCAA: Florida Gov. Jeb Bush criticized the NCAA yesterday, saying that officials had insulted both the university and Seminole Indians by calling the nickname “hostile” and “abusive.” According to the Associated Press, Bush announced, “I think they insult those people by telling them, ‘No, no, you’re not smart enough to understand this. You should be feeling really horrible about this.’ It’s ridiculous. How politically correct can we get? The folks that make these decisions need to get out more often.” Bush also said the NCAA must have better things to do than sit around worrying about the nicknames adopted by its member institutions. The NCAA has stated that non-Florida Seminole tribes were against the use of the nickname and logo. The university plans on appealing the NCAA’s decision to ban all American Indian mascots at all NCAA tournament events starting Feb. 1. [8/10/05]