Jalen Rose co-host of Jalen and Jacoby on ESPN said in a video posted to his Twitter account on Wednesday that the sports term “Mount Rushmore” should be retired. This term, Rose insists, is offensive to certain groups of people, especially Native Americans.
Here’s why using Mount Rushmore to define greatness should be retired immediately. pic.twitter.com/mtYYTtKFSa
— Jalen Rose (@JalenRose) August 3, 2022
In his plea to stop using the name to signify greatness in sports, Rose said “can we retire using ‘Mount Rushmore?’ That should be offensive to all of us especially Native Americans, Indigenous people who were the first people here before Christopher Columbus.” In sports and basketball circles, the term “Mount Rushmore” is used to signify the top-four greatest individuals in a certain field, the Blaze reported. Rose insisted that this term should not be used because of Mount Rushmore’s history. “That land was stolen…when it was discovered that it contained gold,” Rose said. (RELATED: Aaron Rodgers Credits His Success To Psychedelic Plant)
The former NBA player also referenced the name changes of the Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Indians and claimed these were as offensive as “Mount Rushmore” is to him. The 49-year-old said “why do you think Washington changed their name from Redskins? I do a show and didn’t say that word for eight years because it’s offensive.” “What about the Cleveland Indians? Same thing. Why did they change the name? Because it’s offensive,” Rose added.
Jalen Rose may very well have his heart in the right place, but his video comes off as another attempt to try and cancel something. Cancel culture is a vicious ongoing cycle, and it deserves to be resisted.
It will be very interesting to see if people will continue using the term “Mount Rushmore” amongst their peers during sports rankings and in debates now that Rose wants to cancel it.