Chief Moccanooga

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Chief Moccanooga was the former athletic mascot for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, until 1996, when the university abandoned the mascot [1] as potentially offensive [2] at the request of the Chattanooga InterTribal Association. Chief Moccanooga was replaced with a mockingbird, the state bird of Tennessee, and the nickname for Chattanooga athletics was changed from 'Moccasins' to simply 'Mocs'.

Chattanooga's decision to remove Chief Moccanooga as mascot was similar to the actions of several other athletic franchises. In 1986, Chief Noc-A-Homa, the former drum-thumping mascot of Major League Baseball's the Atlanta Braves, was removed. The Cleveland Indians continued to employ a potentially offensive Native American mascot, Chief Wahoo until 2018.

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References

  1. Spear, Ken LeVon (3 July 1996). "'Inappropriate' UTC Mascot Axed". Chattanooga Free Press. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  2. Spear, Ken LeVon (4 January 1996). "Indians Rap UTC Mascot". Chattanooga Free Press. Retrieved 8 December 2012.