Wednesday, December 20, 2006

BYU's Racial Insensitivity

Before each game, and at several pep rallies, BYU Football players do a Haka, or traditional Maori war dance.

White boys dancing is a bad thing.

Anywho, I'm not the only person that thinks Native dances should be done by natives. From today's Tribune:

What was supposed to be a light-hearted and spirited pep rally for BYU and Oregon and their fans came within a whisker of turning ugly Tuesday night at the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas.
While a BYU captain was giving a short speech on a stage above both teams, which were facing each other, several BYU players started doing the Haka, a traditional Maori war dance. The Cougars do the Haka as a team on the field before every game.
An Oregon player of Polynesian descent apparently took exception to the dance. He jumped over a metal barrier separating the teams and shoved a BYU player. A minor fracas ensued, although no punches were thrown.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Your comment would be appropriate if it were not for the fact that BYU's players are not all white. I believe BYU has a number of players of Polynesian descent on their own roster. Likely, the dance was a tradition they brought to the team. Of course, the Haka dance is actually a dance of intimidation, but also one of respect for the opponent. The offended player(s) should get a grip and get educated on the meaning of the tradition before getting all worked up.