SUFFOLK-Suffolk State University president Jenn Tyle reiterated Wednesday her long-held insistence that she won’t change the University’s “Joo” mascot, in the face of criticism from anyone that’s remotely Jewish or anyone who may find it offensive.
“I respect the opinions of those who disagree,” Tyle wrote in a letter to students, faculty and alumni. “But we cannot ignore our 100 year history, or the strong feelings of most of our alumni base throughout the country. After 100 years, the team name ‘Joos’ continues to hold the memories and meaning of where we came from, who we are, and who we want to be in the years to come.”
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Should the Joos change their name?{mijopolls 55} |
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On Monday, the Tidewater Jewish League held a news conference in the only synagogue they could find in the 757 area code, calling out both Tyle and the NCAA for their acceptance of what they called a ‘racial slur’ being used as the team moniker. President Barack Obama chimed in last weekend, telling the Foulwater News that if he was the university president, he would consider changing the name. Obama then went back to listening in on Germany’s phone calls, while he kept getting that damn 404 error on healthcare.gov.
While NCAA officials have said they’re willing to meet with Tidewater area Jewish leaders next month, Tyle remains unbowed.
“The Suffolk State University Joos is more than a name we have called our school for a century,” Tyle wrote. “It is a symbol of everything we stand for: envy, greed, pride, and chutzpah — the same values we know guide Jewish people and which are embedded throughout their rich history as the original Christians before Christ came.”
Suffolk State University is a privately funded, Baptist affiliated, school and was founded in 1896 by Augustus Ezekiel. The nickname ‘Joos’ came about early in the 20th century, as the University’s football program started to take shape. In a handwritten statement dated 1911, Ezekiel penned, “We have a duty upon ourselves to select a moniker that inspires fear, that puts the glint in your eyes, and the gnashing of the teeth. That is the tyranny of this world. That when our opponents hear thine name, they want to turn tail and run. The only thing I can think that inspires fear in this Christian man, that represents what we hope to be a tyrannical reign for this University has to be the Joos. The damnded Joos run this country, and I want our University to emulate this Jooish dominance.”
“When I consider the Suffolk State Joos name, I think of what it stands for,” Tyle said. “I think of the Suffolk State traditions and pride I want to share with my three children, just as my father shared with me. My father glows about the halftime traditions the Joos had when he was a child. Each home game, a rich alum would walk out to mid-field, empty a large bag of cash, and the fans would pour onto the field to grab as many bills as they could get their hands on. This tradition started during the depression to help increase area morale. Or how can we forget our team’s entrance as “Eye of LaHeim” blares through the stereo system, or our favorite touchdown celebration where the player who scores spins the ball like a dreidle and the rest of the players sit around it in a circle and clap and sing? That’s what you are putting at risk with a name change.”
Moses Goldberg, a representative from the law firm, Gefilte, Mazel & Tov, Attorneys at Law, who hosted Monday’s event, responded to Tyle’s latest comments by saying the university president still doesn’t get it.
“The marketing of this racial slur has had – and continues to have – very serious cultural, political, and public health consequences for Jewish people everywhere,” Goldberg said in the statement as he quickly pushed his glasses back to the bridge of his nose. “It is clear from Mrs. Tyle’s letter that she does not understand those consequences. Has anyone seen my inhaler? My passages get real stuffy and this paper I’m holding is making my hands itchy. I’m gonna have to charge more for these working conditions.”
For now the Joos nickname remains intact, and you can see the Joos at home this weekend as they take on the Como Community College Crackers in their 102nd consecutive annual matchup. For tickets call 1-800-JOOSWIN.