UNLV still evaluating future of Hey Reb! mascot

While UNLV is still pondering the future of its mascot, Hey Reb!, renowned sports business expert David Carter said Tuesday that “the speed with which you (make a decision) might be a function of just how much pressure you’re under.”

“If it’s driven by external forces, like social justice, that rebrand has a different look and feel and importance to it than if it’s internal,” said Carter, a professor at the University of Southern California. “It’s a lot easier to put together a plan to do something internal, and you’re running on your own time frame and it’s not being thrust upon you.”

Either way, any prospective changes at UNLV are on hold, according to senior director of media relations Tony Allen, who wrote in an email that acting UNLV president Marta Meana is still discussing a possible change with key stakeholders.

Issues surrounding the sensitivity of team nicknames and mascots were reignited this summer following social unrest after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Washington’s NFL team announced Monday it would be dropping the nickname “Redskins” very soon. Cleveland’s MLB team also announced earlier this month that it’s evaluating the future of its “Indians” nickname.

UNLV removed a bronze statue of Hey Reb! from its campus June 16, and Meana announced then that she’d been evaluating the mascot amid an evolving social climate spurred in part by the deaths of Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery — among others.

The school’s mascots have historically channeled Confederate imagery, though Hey Reb! was inspired by trailblazing mountain men of the 1800s. A 60-page analysis by former UNLV chief diversity officer Rainier Spencer in 2015 concluded that neither the Rebel nickname nor the Hey Reb! are tied to the Confederacy, but the mascot has nonetheless re-emerged as a talking point.

UNLV’s next president could ultimately decide on the future of the school’s mascot, as the Nevada System of Higher Education is scheduled to interview finalists Kenneth Furton, Chris Heavey, Karla Leeper and Keith Whitfield on July 22. The Board of Regents is expected to decide on a new president July 23, but Meana’s contract runs through December and she could still rule on the mascot’s future before leaving her post.

Carter said changes in logos, mascots or team names often “boil down to money or pressure from society.”

“If you’re going to make a change, socialize that change with your stakeholders and then make a move and articulate why you did it, then stick to it and move on,” Carter said. “There might be some short term discomfort from some of the traditionalists, but up against the potential for foregone revenue from sponsors, or others that don’t want to be affiliated with something that some people deemed offensive, then that’s the move you’ve got to make.

“You have to measure that against both sides of the equation. Doing something, and doing nothing.”

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.