Political Correctness on the Ball Field

In the article entitled "Sticks and Stones and Sports Team Names," author Richard Estrada writes about the continued use of Native Americans as nicknames for American sports teams and how he feels this is culturally insensitive and that the practice should be banned. In making this case, he invokes feelings of nostalgia and pride in a region's sports team and how this is incongruous with mocking of an ethnic identity. Estrada utilizes the rhetorical devices of pathos, ethos, and logos while at the same timing intentionally or unintentionally employing fallacies in making his arguments regarding the harm of continuing the practice of naming teams after ethnic minorities.

Pathos, or emotional appeal, is utilized throughout the piece, but most obviously in Estrada's opening paragraph. He first uses nostalgic terms to create an image of childhood and then uses hyperbole to describe the ballplayers (Estrada). By...
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