Time for Exeter to ditch the warpaint

To misquote Aristotle, ‘human nature abhors a vaccuum’, and with no rugby at present, the hottest topic around seems to be the headdresses that some Exeter Chiefs supporters like to sport.

- COLIN BOAG

An open letter was sent from the ‘Wasps Report’ Twitter account to the Wasps management calling on them to ‘consider action to tackle one of rugby’s most prominent examples of cultural appropriation’. It called for a ban on the wearing of ‘novelty Native American headdresses’ at Wasps’ ground, and a number of other clubs’ supporters waded-in to the debate.

The problem with those sorts of internet discussions is that they start out in a reasonable fashion, but then positions get entrenched, no one will moderate their views, and it simply becomes unpleasant and pointless.

A debate had been going on at Exeter for some time, with rival groups setting up petitions calling on the Chiefs name to disappear, or defending the status quo. In the end the Chiefs’ board fudged the issue, keeping the name and the logo, but ‘retiring’ Big Chief.