SFU athletics could scrap ‘Clan’ team name by fall

BURNABY (NEWS 1130) — SFU sports teams could have a new name by the start of the fall semester.

At a meeting with student athletes Thursday, 97 per cent of those in attendance voted to change the name from ‘the Clan.’

On Friday, the school’s athletics department reiterated its commitment to a review, and offered more details about the timeline.

According to football player Paolo Lujan, who was at the meeting, the school said the process had been stalled, but has taken on urgency due to widespread protests against racism sparked by the killing of George Floyd.

“Pretty much everything was on hold due to COVID, but now with the rise of Black Lives Matter and everything that has been going on in the United States it has been set to a priority now,” he says.

“I really feel that they are trying to do change for the better. I can say that it has been a huge improvement from previous years. We can see that the school has been educated more on the issues.”

A petition launched by one student athlete in June advocating for a name change has since gathered close to 10,000 signatures.

RELATED: ‘Extreme embarrassment when the name comes up’: SFU athlete advocates to change team name from ‘Clan’

The school says it will consult with alumni, athletes, staff and student groups like the SFU African Student Association over the summer.

“SFU Athletics will provide a report to the president in August and a decision will be shared before the fall term begins,” reads a post on the website.

“SFU athletes compete in the United States as Canada’s only NCAA team, and we are aware that some have incorrectly made associations between our Scottish nickname and the Ku Klux Klan. The university is deeply troubled by and attentive to the emotions and concerns to which these associations have given rise, and the impact they have on our athletes.”

https://twitter.com/OthnielSpence/status/1279260486089895936

Lujan explains athletes are frequently put in the position of having to explain or defend the origins of the name.

“Every time we go to the Unites States, even if we explain it to them a lot of people don’t really seem to understand that. The name — it changes once we get to the United States. It’s not ‘the Clan’ that we think it is, it’s not unity, it’s not family. It’s the white supremacist group that has done horrible crimes. We didn’t want to get rid of Scottish heritage. That is not our plan. Our plan is to be able to represent Canada, represent our school appropriately and it is very difficult to do when the name is twisted, when the name is connected to a hate group,” he says.

“When we go to the United States a lot of student athletes are threatened. They’re taunting that name, they’re taunting our student athletes. Right now we also want to be changing the name for preemptive measures to protect our student athletes because who knows how people may react, especially right now with what is happening in the United States.”

While the school has not committed to changing the name, Lujan says he is optimistic.

“It has become a priority and you can see that the school is moving with urgency now. I do feel pretty confident and I hope the name can be changed before the season even starts.”

For Lujan, it’s important to advocate for the name change to support the Black student athletes who have spoken out about the effect the name has on them.

“I understand my teammates and I will be fighting for them. A family’s going to be a family no matter what the name is.”

I appreciate the victories that we’ve been having with the name change movement. But it’s not over till the president signs that paper. Kobe taught me to not get complacent until the job is finished. @OthnielSpence pic.twitter.com/Dfk2LQ1dG0

— Mason Glover (@FreshGlove_10) July 4, 2020