FSU fans are told to stop wearing Native American headdresses to games

Florida State University's student government has passed a resolution discouraging Seminoles fans from wearing Native American headdresses at games.

The reason? They are not factual representation of the Seminole tribe.

The Student Government Association approved the non-binding, formal opinion by a 27-4 vote on April 20 asking the university's administration to consider adding the wearing of headdresses as a violation of the student code of conduct.

The SGA said it passed the resolution because many of the headdresses worn at athletic events are representative of other tribes — in particular Plains tribes like the Sioux, and not the Seminoles. 

Part of the resolution reads that the Senate "does not condone the wearing of headdresses because it inaccurately depicts the culture of the Seminole Tribe."

FSU student reps: No headdresses at Seminoles games (The Associated Press): Florida State University's studen... https://t.co/zIr1RedwQI

— FSU Seminoles (@fsusports) May 4, 2016

Even if the administration decided to add the headdress issue to the code of conduct, enforcing it could be difficult because of concerns that it might violate students' First Amendment right to free speech.

Florida State is one of four schools where the NCAA has approved the use of a Native American name and imagery because of its support of the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

The others are Central Michigan University (Chippewas), University of Utah (Utes) and Mississippi College (Choctaws). Four Division I schools — Alcorn State, Bradley, Illinois and William & Mary — have Native American nicknames but do not use mascots or imagery.

Washington Redskins name ruled not obscene by FCC: Report

The name of the Washington Redskins NFL team will not be considered a profane term when used on radio airwaves, according to the Federal Communications Commission's response to a petition Thursday.

The petition called for a Virginia radio station owned by football team owner Dan Snyder to not have its license renewed due to its repeated use of the word "Redskins." John Banzhaf III, a professor at George Washington University, and others said use of the name during NFL games was objectionable because it’s a “derogatory racial and ethnic slur” against American Indians.

The FCC dismissed the petition, saying that the law defines terms of a sexual or excretory nature as profane and not those that mean a football team and granted a renewal of the license for WWXX(FM) in Buckland, Va.

Banzhaff called the ruling against his petition "no more than round one." 

Last month the team won the right to review a decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to cancel the mark as disparaging. Snyder has repeatedly said the name was intended to honor Native Americans and he won’t change it.

The rulings are the latest in a decades-long dispute over a brand estimated by Forbes magazine to be worth $145 million.

Native American groups and politicians have been calling for Washington's team name to be dropped and some media outlets have been deliberately omitting the franchise's name from coverage.

Don't expect this issue to end anytime soon.