SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS APPLAUD NCAA DECISION



In response to the announcement by the National Collegiate Athletic Association
of their decision to not expand existing postseason competition bans in South
Carolina and Mississippi due to their use of the Confederate battle flag, the
Sons of Confederate Veterans applauds the NCAA for exhibiting prudence and acumen
in reaching that decision.

The NAACP had demanded the NCAA to broaden its moratorium on bringing predetermined
postseason events, such as NCAA basketball regionals, to the two states. The
ban will not be expanded, however, to sites awarded on merit, such as baseball
tournament regionals or football playoff games.

According to SCV Commander-in-Chief Christopher Sullivan, the NCAA has made
a prudent decision that simply supports the wishes of the citizens of those
states.

"Under political pressure from the NAACP, South Carolina took the battle
flag down from their statehouse in 2000 and placed it on a nearby soldiers memorial
monument, but that apparently wasn’t good enough," Sullivan stated. "Mississippi
put the issue of their flag on a ballot, and even though the citizens there
overwhelmingly voted to keep their flag as is, apparently that wasn’t good enough
either. We salute the NCAA for finally respecting the wishes of the people of
South Carolina and Mississippi and displaying a better understanding of the
meaning of the symbols at the center of the issue than those wishing to use
collegiate sports as a political crowbar."

Sullivan also pointed out that any kind of ban based on Confederate symbolism
is based on a misplaced understanding of history.

"Most Southerners know that the symbols of the Confederacy are not based
in hate, as some would like to have everyone believe," he said. "Arbitrarily
banning anything because of links to Confederate symbols would be ludicrous,
considering that North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi,
and Arkansas all have state flag designs that pay homage to their Confederate
lineage."

Sullivan concluded that the athletic arenas of the South are not the places
to determine political policy.

"Southerners love sports, and most especially collegiate sports, since
they harken back to the Confederate concept of one state competing against another,"
he stated. "We disapprove of attempting to use a point of state and regional
pride as a hostage to reach a political ends. Political issues should be decided
by the people within the states themselves, not outsiders who know little or
nothing about those states or the families that call them home. The NCAA should
do the right thing and drop the ban altogether."

The Sons of Confederate Veterans is a fraternal organization comprised of descendents
of Confederate soldiers that was formed in 1896.