Local pro basketball team announces name, logo, and big event

goCapeBreton.com Team Follow Me

Posted this 2015-11-24 1:14 PM AST (updated 2016-12-28 5:10 PM AST)

Cape Breton's pro basketball team announced its name, logo, and upcoming exhibition games at C200.

The team will be called the Cape Breton Highlanders and is scheduled to hit the court for the 2015-2016 season, which begins in late 2016. The team name was selected through a local contest won by 7-year-old Cody Wambolt of Sydney. Cody wins season passes. Highlanders was a popular name submitted by several people and a random draw was used to select the winner.

The team colors are blue, red, and white, and two logos were revealed.

The “Team Logo” showcases the Highlanders name with a strong warrior hand holding up a sword.

The “Action Logo” brings the blue basketball in the Team Logo to life as a Highlander warrior.

Team President, Tyrone Levingston, said, “The team name and logo are inspired by the beauty of the Cape Breton Highlands and the history and bravery of the Cape Breton Highlanders military regiment.”

Levingston also announced the team website at HighlandersBasketball.ca and a full day of basketball at Centre 200 on December 18, 2015 . Local teams will play throughout the afternoon and then the NBL’s Halifax Hurricanes and Island Storm (PEI) will play an exhibition game. Tickets for this event are as low as $5 and are on sale now at the Centre 200 box office and online.

CBRM Mayor, Cecil Clarke , was in attendance to sign an NBL PLAYER CONTRACT on behalf of the people of CBRM to be the official sixth man of the Cape Breton Highlanders basketball team.

Find out more in the attached News Release.

Website : HighlandersBasketball.ca

Facebook: @HighlandersBasketball

Twitter: @cbHighlanders

Posted by goCapeBreton.com Team
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madeline yakimchuk Follow Me 2015-12-02 8:35 AM AST

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Once again Cape Breton is reduced to one ethnic group which has nothing to do with the theme at hand.

Mathew Georghiou Follow Me 2015-12-02 10:22 AM AST

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Hey Madeline, it's actually common for sports teams to take their names from prominent cultural or physical attributes of the region they represent. In this NBL league, there are the St. John Mill Rats (paper mills) and Windsor Express (rail yards) that use similar approaches. In other pro leagues there are the Dallas Cowboys, Utah Jazz, and many other examples. The name was suggested by a lot of people and it is inspired by the Highlands of Cape Breton and the Highlanders Military Regiment, not necessarily the cultural representation ...although it works both ways, so why not? The colors were also chosen because they are very different than the ones you normally see around here, so they offer a further balance of past and future. This team is all positive for Cape Breton.

madeline yakimchuk Follow Me 2015-12-02 4:47 PM AST

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Yes I know it is common, and it is particularly common in Cape Breton for us to choose, without thinking, something related to the ethnic group one would think of as Highlander. Not one of the examples you used referred to or would be affiliated to an ethnic group. We are an island of four languages and many cultures, but the gaelic is the one we assume everyone relates to. I think we have to make an effort to get away from this.

Mathew Georghiou Follow Me 2015-12-02 5:25 PM AST

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I don't think the name was chosen without thinking. I'm 100% Greek, so the name doesn't represent me ethnically at all, yet I think the name is perfect for this community. Keep in mind that an entertainment business has to attract fans, not make controversial social commentary. I don't disagree with your observation about ethnic assumptions, but my worry is that a positive, good news initiative like this one is not the best place to inject such a controversial discussion. We need to support this team as it can mean good things for our community (which I know is what you want to do too).

madeline yakimchuk Follow Me 2015-12-02 7:30 PM AST

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I disagree that a most positive initiative is not the place to point these things out, hence I have. I don't think the problem is that we are racist, most of us at least, but that racism is institutionalized. To think that a name that is very closely affiliated with one of our major ethnic groups represents the island is not correct in my view. People would stand up and notice if the team was named the Fleur-de-lis something or other. Because the name is affiliated with the group with the power, we are even more obliged to mention it.

Mathew Georghiou Follow Me 2015-12-02 9:21 PM AST

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We will have to agree to disagree on this one. And, I think there are much more important and meaningful battles to be tackled for the future of Cape Breton and NS.

madeline yakimchuk Follow Me 2015-12-02 9:26 PM AST

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You bother to discuss this with me, but at the point of deciding to simply disagree you imply that the battle is not important. On that too then we must disagree. I was told very similar things when I noted that the Mi'kmaw were invisible in Destination Cape Breton's videos, or that the Mayor's christian prayer was not a minor issue. Everyone chooses their battles, and when it comes to institutional racism or the imposition of one way on the rest, you can expect me to speak out every time. These are battles that are important to me.

Mathew Georghiou Follow Me 2015-12-02 10:36 PM AST

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Hey Madeline ... I'm happy to explain myself ... I originally replied to your first comment because I did not want to see this positive good news story have a negative comment sitting under it all by itself without a rebuttal. I respect your effort to express your opinion here, even though I do not agree with it ... that's why I replied publicly instead of using my admin privileges to delete it in the first place, since that would be contrary to the open forum we are trying to encourage on goCB :-) I tried to end my participation in the discussion by suggesting that we have to agree to disagree because I believe that your assessment of the team name being influenced by institutional racism is completely wrong. I know this because I know how the name was chosen (although I was not part of the decision-making). I did not think I would be able to change your mind by saying anything more than I had already said, so I left it at that. I'm not questioning if institutional racism exists or not, I'm only saying that it does not exist right here right now with this new local basketball team, so let's not take something positive and drag it into the negative for the wrong reasons.

madeline yakimchuk Follow Me 2015-12-03 7:51 AM AST

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you left out one point in the scenario. at the end of your process you reduced the value of my participation by judging that this was not an important battle, and judged me for taking it up. This name is a perfect example of institutional racism.

Mathew Georghiou Follow Me 2015-12-03 10:34 AM AST

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Sigh ... not sure why you want to pick a fight here Madeline, but to respond to your comment, I'll expand on mine: Yes, I believe that there are much important and meaningful battles to be tackled for the future of Cape Breton and NS than throwing mud at the name of a new basketball team. It seems you may disagree, and that's fine. If you are passionate about the issue of institutional racism, then I would encourage you to write about it and create a new post where you can express your views and open up the discussion more broadly for those that want to participate. In that same post, you can use all the examples that you think support your view.

madeline yakimchuk Follow Me 2015-12-03 11:17 AM AST

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I am not picking a fight Mathew. I am merely standing my ground, as are you.

madeline yakimchuk Follow Me 2015-12-02 4:51 PM AST

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I thought I should mention that although my surname is Yakimchuk, it is only 25% of my ethnic heritage... the rest is most definitely highlander. The last time I spoke openly about what I see as institutionalized racism I was called a Honky B**** from a fake FB account, so I thought I would clarify that I am actually a Highlander B****. :-)

Rory Andrews Follow Me 2015-12-03 10:25 AM AST

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There seems to be a large discussion about the cultural appropriation of this basketball team's name going on. Personally, I see no issue in naming our new basketball team after immortal, sword wielding warriors in a power struggle to the death. I think Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery both had admirable performances in the 1986 motion picture, and our basketball team will do a great job at keeping the legacy that they started alive and well.

madeline yakimchuk Follow Me 2015-12-03 11:11 AM AST

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It hasn't really been a large discussion, just my comment and then me standing my ground with one other comment or who turns out to be an administrator. I have been surprised that so few other people have cared enough about a basketball team to have said a thing, quite separate from my initial reaction to the name. Thanks for changing that.

madeline yakimchuk Follow Me 2015-12-03 11:48 AM AST

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Sorry about the typo in that last comment... I was walking and typing on my phone. The system will not allow me to edit it... don't know why. I intended to type "one other commenter" not "one other comment or"