2008 Woodie Awards
Will JSU say "Bye-bye Cocky"?
Audrey Hykes
Issue date: 9/1/05 Section: News
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Cocky, however, is causing a debate between JSU, the NCAA, and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Since cockfighting is an illegal blood sport in nearly every state, PETA confronted the NCAA and asked them to ban all team names and mascots that have hostile and abusive descriptions of animals.
In the case of cockfighting, Allison Ezell, a campaign coordinator for PETA, said that roosters raised for cockfighting are generally confined to small cages their whole lives, tormented to make them aggressive, and fed a daily diet of stimulants. During a cockfight, sharp metal spurs are attached to the birds' legs so the birds can literally tear each other apart.
"The birds suffer from broken wings and legs, punctured lungs, severed spinal cords, and gouged out eyes. The lucky ones die, but the survivors are fought again," said Ezell.
"I'm against cock fighting, I think it's cruel and unusual treatment," said JSU President William Meehan. "But I firmly don't believe that we promote gamecock fighting with our mascot, no more than Samford, with their Bulldog, promotes pit bull fighting."
The gamecock was chosen for the university's mascot back in the mid-1940s. Before then, the mascot was an eagle owl, and the school colors were purple and yellow. But there was one problem-most people had no clue what an eagle owl was, and most people, even today, will still ask what one is.
A gamecock, though, was quite a common symbol, especially because many people kept fowl and poultry in their yards during that time. And having a gamecock in the yard, according to Meehan, was a proud and handsome symbol, which is why JSU and its students chose it for a mascot.
The JSU Gamecock is now a registered trademark, and its image and/or name appears all around the campus and print materials. Meehan said the school recently spent $800,000 to put a printed gamecock on the artificial turf in the football stadium.
PETA, however, sees the gamecock as anything but a proud and handsome symbol. By having a gamecock as a mascot, they believe a message is sent to sports fans that cruel, illegal cockfighting is something to cheer about. And while Ezell said that the name change is not on the top of their priority list, it is something that they will continue to pursue until they get a victory.