Vandals attacked and defaced the Chicago Blackhawks’ Indian Chief mascot statue under cover of darkness Sunday night or early Monday morning. The attackers poured red paint over the statue and spraypainted messages including “Defund the Police” around the base.
A series of tweets by Twitter user No Racist Mascots, @zhigaagoong, shows the damage inflicted on the statues during the overnight hours of October 11-12. Vandals doused the statue of the Chicago Blackhawks’ mascot and the surrounding hockey players in red paint.
At least one of the photos reveals the attack on the statue occurred during the hours of darkness.
A video posted by the same person points out the irony of a message on the United Center that reads “We are United Against Racism.” The Twitter poster comments, “We are united against racism (but for racist mascots).”
The video also shows crews already at work attempting to remove the paint and graffiti.
In a message to Chicago Mayor L0ri Lightfoot, vandals painted “F*ck your advisory committee.”
The Athletic picked up on the story and said the attack represents an escalation in the ongoing battle over the Chicago Blackhawks’ continued use of the Native American logo.
Chicago Blackhawks team officials responded, saying they are standing by their iconic mascot, NBCSports reported.
The Chicago Blackhawks’ name and logo symbolizes an important and historic person, Black Hawk of Illinois’ Sac & Fox Nation, whose leadership and life has inspired generations of Native Americans, veterans and the public. We celebrate Black Hawk’s legacy by offering ongoing reverent examples of Native American culture, traditions and contributions, providing a platform for genuine dialogue with local and national Native American groups. As the team’s popularity grew over the past decade, so did that platform and our work with these important organizations.
We recognize there is a fine line between respect and disrespect, and we commend other teams for their willingness to engage in that conversation. Moving forward, we are committed to raising the bar even higher to expand awareness of Black Hawk and the important contributions of all Native American people. We will continue to serve as stewards of our name and identity, and will do so with a commitment to evolve. Our endeavors in this area have been sincere and multi-faceted, and the path forward will draw on that experience to grow as an organization and expand our efforts.
The attack, on “Indigenous People’s Day,” appears to have coincided with the attack by a faction of antifa in Portland that brought down statues of Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, Breitbart News reported.
“Tonight the “indigenous” faction of antifa held a “day of rage” riot in Portland,” independent journalist Andy Ngo tweeted. “They banned video recording as the criminal acts were planned ahead. They’ve toppled the statues of Roosevelt & Lincoln so far using chains.”
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.