Former professional basketball player turned ESPN analyst Jalen Rose created a firestorm of controversy last week when he shared his thoughts on Mount Rushmore. Jalen Rose said in a Twitter video that he finds it “offensive” when people use “Mount Rushmore” to describe the four greatest of something, as the iconic giant sculpture was built “on top of dead bodies.”
Can we retire using ‘Mount Rushmore?’ That should be offensive to all of us, especially Native Americans, Indigenous people who were the first people here before Christopher Columbus,” Rose said in his Twitter video that has since gained over 455,000 views. “That land was stolen from them when it was discovered that it contained gold.”
And 25 years later, to add insult to injury, four American presidents were put on what we call Mount Rushmore on top of the dead bodies that is buried right underneath. So, I call for you and for myself… I’m owning this, too… let’s stop using the term ‘Mount Rushmore’ when we’re talking about our favorite rappers, talking about our favorite movies, talking about our favorite players.”
Mount Rushmore is a famous depiction of four American presidents carved into a mountain in South Dakota. As you know, it depicts the faces of U.S. presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.
“Why do you think Washington changed their name from Redskins? I do a show and didn’t say that word for eight years,” Rose said. “Because it’s offensive. What about the Cleveland Indians? Same thing. Why did they change the name? Because it’s offensive.”
In response to Rose’s video, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem pushed back against the former NBA star’s anti-Mount Rushmore sentiment.
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“The four men on Mount Rushmore were amazing, flawed American leaders who helped make America what it is today — the greatest country the world has ever known,” Noem said in a tweet posted on Saturday.
To the woke leftists obsessed with attacking these leaders, I’ve got news for you: not on my watch,” she warned.”
Rose himself hasn’t replied to any criticism or support of his video. He just wanted to say what was on his mind and leave it at that.
