LESAProject

I stare sullenly at my favorite Steelers jersey, a white one bearing a black seven and a golden "Roethlisberger" across the back, and I contemplate the question that has been on my mind since this whole circus began: How do I ever wear that shirt again? I have many friends who are college-aged females, as well as several young female cousins. Every time I look at that jersey, I think of them. And I think of him. When the Steelers picked Ben Roethlisberger with the No. 11 selection in the 2004 NFL Draft, I rejoiced. Finally, someone to erase the memories of Neil O'Donnell and ...

It's been a prickly topic for years, even decades. It spans not just every professional sport, but collegiate sports as well. Depending on who you talk to, it's a stain on the organizations it affects or a way of honoring those who came before us. Native Americans were exploited almost from the moment Europeans arrived on this continent, pushed and shoved off their land for centuries until they were confined to the reservations that are now common across the south and midwestern parts of the United States. When sports teams and, more importantly, sports team's nicknames and mascots, came into being in ...