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    U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade

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    June is officially Pride Month in Oxford

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    Oxford celebrates Juneteenth holiday

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    Orientation sessions introduce new students to Ole Miss

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    UM remembers 26 lives in annual memorial ceremony

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    Ole Miss sweeps Oklahoma to win National Championship

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    Rebels bounce back to win thriller over Arkansas 2-0, advance to CWS Finals

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    Rebs stay hot in Omaha, beat Auburn 5-1

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    The comeback kids: Ole Miss Baseball advances to College World Series

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    L.A. living

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    Catch us if you Cannes: UM students study abroad

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    Lavender LLC debuts this fall

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    U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade

    U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade

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    June is officially Pride Month in Oxford

    Oxford celebrates Juneteenth holiday

    Oxford celebrates Juneteenth holiday

    Orientation sessions introduce new students to Ole Miss

    Orientation sessions introduce new students to Ole Miss

    UM remembers 26 lives in annual memorial ceremony

    UM remembers 26 lives in annual memorial ceremony

    Hickerson selected as SOJNM dean, pending IHL approval

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    Ole Miss Baseball returns home to crowd of fans

    Ole Miss sweeps Oklahoma to win National Championship

    Ole Miss sweeps Oklahoma to win National Championship

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    Rebels bounce back to win thriller over Arkansas 2-0, advance to CWS Finals

    Ole Miss is dominated again in game two

    Rebels victorious over Hogs, move on to bracket finals

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    Rebs stay hot in Omaha, beat Auburn 5-1

    The comeback kids: Ole Miss Baseball advances to College World Series

    The comeback kids: Ole Miss Baseball advances to College World Series

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    Lavender LLC debuts this fall

    Lavender LLC debuts this fall

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Ole Miss Esports becomes first university team to drop ‘Rebels’

Kelby ZendejasbyKelby Zendejas
June 14, 2020
2 min read
Students stand in front of the poster for the inaugural Esports Egg Bowl last year. 45 Ole Miss students will compete against Mississippi State in seven different video games for the grand prize trophy. File Photo by Madeline Click.

In response to the recent surge in national support for the Black Lives Matter movement, Ole Miss Esports publicly announced their removal of the name “Rebels” from their team and from all team-affiliated hashtags, making them the first university sports program to ever do so.

“If you can alter something to make something seem more inclusive to the people around you, why would you not?” esports president Sergio Brack said.“If this will make people feel more welcome in our organization and will make people take notice that we’re taking a stand against racial inequality — especially with all of the stuff happening around the world — then that’s what we’re going to do.” 

After the university retired Colonel Reb as the sideline mascot in 2003, Brack said he thinks the term “rebels” has a divisive connotation within the student body, especially with the people of color. The term goes all the way back to 1936, when the University Athletic Committee at the time declared it official.

“There’s too many people of color in our organization, too many players of color that we’ve benefited from, to not say something this time and to not try to create the change that we want to see within the university.” 

In a tweet earlier this week, the team declared the removal by stating, “In our continued support of #BLM we will be retiring all hashtags referencing to ourselves as Rebels and replacing them with new ones to properly align ourselves with our current mascot.”  

In our continued support of #BLM we will be retiring all hashtags referencing to ourselves as Rebels and replacing them with new ones to properly align ourselves with our current mascot.

— Ole Miss Esports (@olemissesports) June 8, 2020

The premier esports organization has grown in numbers since its debut three years ago. The team also planned for their own home tournament at the Jackson Avenue Center in April, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was strictly online. 

“It’s a slow build for sure, but like I said, this is our first year as a varsity program,” says Brack. “In the near future, I would say in the next two years max, I believe we’ll have scholarships to give away.” 

In Case You Missed It

Ole Miss Baseball returns home to crowd of fans

14 mins ago
Ole Miss sweeps Oklahoma to win National Championship

Ole Miss sweeps Oklahoma to win National Championship

11 hours ago
Rebels bounce back to win thriller over Arkansas 2-0, advance to CWS Finals

Rebels bounce back to win thriller over Arkansas 2-0, advance to CWS Finals

2 days ago
U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade

U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade

3 days ago
Ole Miss is dominated again in game two

Rebels victorious over Hogs, move on to bracket finals

4 days ago
June is officially Pride Month in Oxford

June is officially Pride Month in Oxford

4 days ago

Ole Miss Esports becomes first university team to drop ‘Rebels’

Kelby ZendejasbyKelby Zendejas
June 14, 2020
2 min read
Students stand in front of the poster for the inaugural Esports Egg Bowl last year. 45 Ole Miss students will compete against Mississippi State in seven different video games for the grand prize trophy. File Photo by Madeline Click.

In response to the recent surge in national support for the Black Lives Matter movement, Ole Miss Esports publicly announced their removal of the name “Rebels” from their team and from all team-affiliated hashtags, making them the first university sports program to ever do so.

“If you can alter something to make something seem more inclusive to the people around you, why would you not?” esports president Sergio Brack said.“If this will make people feel more welcome in our organization and will make people take notice that we’re taking a stand against racial inequality — especially with all of the stuff happening around the world — then that’s what we’re going to do.” 

After the university retired Colonel Reb as the sideline mascot in 2003, Brack said he thinks the term “rebels” has a divisive connotation within the student body, especially with the people of color. The term goes all the way back to 1936, when the University Athletic Committee at the time declared it official.

“There’s too many people of color in our organization, too many players of color that we’ve benefited from, to not say something this time and to not try to create the change that we want to see within the university.” 

In a tweet earlier this week, the team declared the removal by stating, “In our continued support of #BLM we will be retiring all hashtags referencing to ourselves as Rebels and replacing them with new ones to properly align ourselves with our current mascot.”  

In our continued support of #BLM we will be retiring all hashtags referencing to ourselves as Rebels and replacing them with new ones to properly align ourselves with our current mascot.

— Ole Miss Esports (@olemissesports) June 8, 2020

The premier esports organization has grown in numbers since its debut three years ago. The team also planned for their own home tournament at the Jackson Avenue Center in April, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was strictly online. 

“It’s a slow build for sure, but like I said, this is our first year as a varsity program,” says Brack. “In the near future, I would say in the next two years max, I believe we’ll have scholarships to give away.” 

In Case You Missed It

Ole Miss Baseball returns home to crowd of fans

14 mins ago
Ole Miss sweeps Oklahoma to win National Championship

Ole Miss sweeps Oklahoma to win National Championship

11 hours ago
Rebels bounce back to win thriller over Arkansas 2-0, advance to CWS Finals

Rebels bounce back to win thriller over Arkansas 2-0, advance to CWS Finals

2 days ago
U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade

U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade

3 days ago
Ole Miss is dominated again in game two

Rebels victorious over Hogs, move on to bracket finals

4 days ago
June is officially Pride Month in Oxford

June is officially Pride Month in Oxford

4 days ago

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