Sports
HBO program 'Real Sports' to air mascot segment


The HBO program "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" will air a segment on the use of Indians as mascots tonight.

Olympic gold medalist Billy Mills, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, will appear on the show. Part of the segment was taped on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, The Rapid City Journal reported.

The description of the segment is as follows:
"Also on the program, an interview with Native American Olympic hero Billy Mills, gold medallist at the 1964 Summer Games, and an outspoken critic of Native American sports mascots. For years, Native American leaders like Mills have objected to the imagery used by some professional, collegiate and high school sports teams, insisting that names like "Redskins" and "Braves" and logos like the Cleveland Indians' smiling Chief Wahoo, are inaccurate, insensitive portrayals of their people. Now in California, activists are endeavoring to pass into law a bill that would prohibit the use of the word "Redskins" in all California public schools."

Get the Story:
Mills to appear on HBO show (The Rapid City Journal 10/19)

Relevant Links:
Real Sports - http://www.hbo.com/realsports