FSU bullies high school about nickname
For years adminstrators and parents have worked together to try and remove bulllying from schools.
Bullies create tension and are counterproductive to a learning environment.
This week I heard a story about bullying I could not believe — it is a story about a college threatening a high school.
In case you have missed the story, Southeast High School football team in Bradenton, Fla. was preparing for its season when Florida State University told the school it would have to change its nickname.
Both programs have used the Seminole nickname for decades, but suddenly FSU decided to flex its muscles against the high school.
The high school uses the same helmet logo, the same Indian profile logo and the same nickname as Florida State. The only difference is that FSU’s color scheme is garnet, gold and white while Southeast uses a blue, orange and white color scheme.
The university is bringing a lawsuit against the high school through the Collegiate Licensing Company — that’s right, folks, this is all about money.
There are two big problems with this suit.
First, can a high school really dip into a college’s revenue?
While there are copyright and trademark laws that are in place to prevent teams from getting ripped off, it shouldn’t apply here. The high school is not trying to profit off the FSU emblem.
Any merchandise it sells will be in the high school’s color scheme — only an idiot, or someone completely color blind would confuse the two. The money generated by the sale of the merchandise helps fund the team’s expenses. It is doubtful the coach is pocketing millions of dollars in illicitly gained funds.
Second, Florida State hasn’t had a problem with it for the past 51 years, why the fuss now?
Southeast High School has basically been a feeder program for the Florida State football team. The collegiate Seminoles have seen game film of the high school Seminoles for years — heck, even former head coach Bobby Bowden visited the school on recruiting trips.
One of Southeast’s former players and current assistant coaches — Peter Warrick — will be inducted into the FSU Athletic Hall of Fame next week.
The big program is familiar with the little program and has been for years.
Is the lawsuit an extension of failed expectations on the football field?
Florida State was a national title contender for a long time. Unfortunately the Seminoles fell on hard times and barely earned winning seasons in each of the past five years.
The lawsuit comes across as a bully that feels bad about itself, so it picks on the little guy to build confidence.
Officials at Southeast are prepared to fight FSU’s request as long as possible. School officials say it would cost at least $100,000 to remove traces of the Seminole nickname and logo from campus.
Surely a compromise can be reached and Southeast can continue to be the Seminoles.
Maybe Florida State will tell the Collegiate Licensing Company to get a life and quit bullying a high school, but don’t count on it.
