The University of Nebraka’s longtime mascot, Herbie Husker, will look a bit different from now on.
While the traditional “N” long associated with the school will remain in place, the three-fingered “OK” symbol that the mascot always showed has been replaced by a single finger, aimed at letting everyone know Nebraska is #1.
Why the change?
Well, at some point, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the “OK” symbol became racist.
The university originally changed Herbie’s hand signal in 2022. However, now the school has revealed a completely revamped mascot featuring a blonde man in overalls complete with corncob and boots.
Sometimes to move forward, you gotta look back. pic.twitter.com/tqjPX5UdZl
— Nebraska Huskers (@Huskers) April 17, 2023
“Herbie Husker has been one of the iconic symbols of Nebraska Athletics for nearly 50 years,” said Trev Alberts, the vice chancellor and athletics director. “Our fans are passionate about all things related to the Huskers, and they have a particular fondness for Herbie. We are excited to present modernized Herbie Husker marks and logos and thrilled to unveil our new Herbie mascot at Saturday’s spring game.”
The school emphasized “embracing the Cornhusker tradition and the agricultural background of the state of Nebraska” when envisioning the new design.
Mascot Herbie Husker of the Nebraska Cornhuskers cheers on the field during a game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Nebraska Cornhuskers at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The Ohio State Buckeyes won 63-38. (David Dermer/Diamond Images/Getty Images)
“A common hand gesture that a 4chan trolling campaign claimed in 2017 had been appropriated as a symbol meaning ‘White power.’ Used by many on the right – not just extremists – for the purpose of trolling liberals, the symbol eventually came to be used by actual White supremacists as well. Caution must be used in evaluating instances of this symbol’s use,” the ADL says.
One would think that the fact the “OK” symbol had been used by Herbie Husker since 1974 – well before anyone what a 4chan was – would have cleared Herbie of any suspicions of white supremacist activities.
But, apparently not.