The University of Notre Dame is standing behind its Fighting Irish leprechaun mascot after it was ranked the fourth most offensive college football mascot in a new national survey.
Notre Dame told the IndyStar that the Irish community played an integral role in the mascot name being adopted.
“Our symbols stand as celebratory representations of a genuine Irish heritage at Notre Dame,” the university said after the news outlet presented the school with the findings of the survey, “a heritage that we regard with respect, loyalty and affection.”
The university noted that “that there is no comparison between Notre Dame’s nickname and mascot and the Indian and warrior names [and] mascots used by other institutions such as the NFL team formerly known as the Redskins.”
“None of these institutions were founded or named by Native Americans who sought to highlight their heritage by using names and symbols associated with their people,” it added.
Notre Dame’s mascot ranked behind three others that were noted as being culturally insensitive to Native Americans in the study conducted by Quality Logo Products. The Illinois-based company issued its study as college football season approached, asking people to rank Division I football team mascots in categories including creepiest, most offensive, best and worst.
Florida State University’s Osceola and Renegade were ranked the most offensive mascot in the survey, with San Diego State University’s Aztec Warrior coming in second and the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Vili the Warrior named the third most offensive.
ESPN’s Max Kellerman previously urged Notre Dame to adopt a new mascot in 2018, saying that while some Irish may not be offended, others are.
“Pernicious, negative stereotypes of marginalized people that offend, even some among them, should be changed,” he wrote in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal.