Why is it not OK to use Native-American images in sports logos in the USA, but it is OK in South Africa? Is this another case of hypocritical and unconscious bias?
As noted in the website for National Congress of American Indians (https://www.ncai.org/proudtobe) you start to see why there are blatant blind spots in recognizing how South Africans of color use images that are disrespectful and perpetuate negative stereotypes.
Such is the case with the logo for the football club in South Africa, Kaiser Chiefs, who use a logo that is similar to those such as the Washington Redskins, Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Chiefs, Cleveland Indians and Chicago Blackhawks, which are among several American sports teams that still use Native American slurs or imagery that have long been described as racist.
Sponsors of such clubs in the USA, such as Adidas have agreed to work with the clubs to change the club names and logos, yet in South Africa there is an absolute denial that Kaiser Chiefs use of the American Indian ‘Chief’ logo is demeaning or racist whatsoever. The hypocrisy is quite stark, given the EFF’s recent outcry over an advert used to promote Unilever’s shampoo brand called TREsemmé in Clicks stores and the subsequent protests surrounding the alleged ‘racist’ advert which referred to black women's hair as "dry, damaged and frizzy" while labelling white hair as "normal".
So, the questions remain as to what the Club (Kaiser Chiefs) and their local and International sponsors, such as Nike, Toyota, Vodacom, Supersport, Black label, Medshield, Protours, Kaelo will do. How will Kaiser Chiefs and the sponsors redress this?
If there is ever to be consistency with calling out racism, surly the Kaiser Chiefs brand and logo need to change, otherwise the hypocrisy will just remain.