MSU Law Professor Examines Use of Racial and Ethnic Stereotypes

Professor Lynk

MSU Law Visiting Professor Myles Lynk presented the first of a two-part lecture series on Image and Identity with a focus on the continued use of Native American imagery in sports. Titled “Image and Identity: The Use of Racial and Ethnic Stereotypes in Sports and Advertising,” was well received by the President of MSU Law Native American Law Students Association.

“I think it’s so important to educate our community about this ongoing issue. As law students, we need to be future advocates for underrepresented communities,” said 2L Rory Wheeler, President of the association.

Professor Lynk looked at the use of Native American imagery by national, college, and high school sports teams. He engaged the audience throughout his presentation by asking them to examine why sports teams continue to use offensive logos or team names when they know they are offensive. “It’s a huge issue and it’s an issue with intent and effect,” said Professor Lynk.

A long-time advocate for racial minority groups, he started getting involved in the issue of sports team names while serving as the NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative at Arizona State University. During this time, the NCAA prohibited the use of Native American images and team names by member institutions except in certain, limited circumstances.

One of the main points made by Professor Lynk was how the history of messaging, in the majority culture, the idea that Native Americans had “vanished” and were no longer around, allowed many people to consider it okay to use their names or images when it came to advertisements and sports logos. “I think this myth is important along with the idea that Indian names and images were being used to depict ‘positive’ qualities, helps explain why the effort to remove Indian imagery in sports teams has been so difficult,” Lynk said.

Team names are very important to many sports fans, and making changes to those names is something that takes a lot of involvement from the public. “Names were changed not because of successful lawsuits, but because of public opinion. Enough people were willing to speak up and convince others to recognize that ‘this is offensive, and it’s got to stop,’” Professor Lynk said.

Students and Faculty found Professor Lynk’s lecture very enlightening. “Race in sports is a topic that has always interested me. I’m a big sports fan. I watch quite a bit of professional and collegiate sports,” Alana Glass, Assistant Dean for Career Development, said. “Having followed the topic of sports mascots and the changes made and calls for change over the years, I really wanted to know more about the history behind the use of the imagery and what’s being done now to eliminate that.”

Professor Lynk and Rory Wheeler

This lecture especially hit home for Mr. Wheeler, who has spent a lot of time working locally to get offensive team names changed in local public school districts. “I’ve been a long-time advocate on this issue,” he said. “Sharing information is so integral because indigenous voices are never really listened to, our issues are always put to the side. It’s good to have sessions like this to educate our community about these issues.”