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XFL Roundup Half of Minnesota voters disapprove of Ventura in XFL
Updated: Saturday February 10, 2001 2:13 AM
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Most Minnesota voters think Gov. Jesse Ventura is doing a good job in office, but half say his role as an XFL commentator is inappropriate, according to a poll Friday. The Saint Paul Pioneer Press and Minnesota Public Radio poll also shows that 41 percent of the respondents believe Ventura is an embarrassment to Minnesota, an increase from the 30 percent who felt that way in a July poll. The poll was conducted after the debut last Saturday of the XFL, a pro football league that plays up its scantily clad cheerleaders and trash-talking players.
Thirty-six percent of the poll respondents believe it is appropriate for Ventura to take part in the league while 14 percent were undecided. The poll of 625 adults -- who said they regularly vote in state elections -- was conducted Feb. 5-6. It has a sampling margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. On Ventura's performance as governor, 55 percent rated him "excellent" or "good" while 28 percent rated him as "fair." Fifteen percent said his job performance was "poor." Ventura said he looks first at the number who consider his performance "poor," and said the current number is "not bad." "Fair, good and excellent are all OK," he said. Maniax draw criticism from mental health associationMEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- The XFL's Memphis Maniax aren't changing their name despite criticism that it is a slap at the mentally ill. "The name and logo of the Memphis Maniax is demeaning to the 54 million Americans and their families who are affected by mental illness each year," said Michael M. Faenza, the president of the National Mental Health Association in Arlington, Va. "Maniac is a person who has unbridled enthusiasm. ... We're just trying to have a little fun," Maniax general manager Steve Ehrhart said. The mental health association says the logo of the Memphis team, a drawing of a man with frizzled hair and spirals for eyes, also is demeaning. The group also contends that displaying the letters "ax" from the end of the Maniax name -- the spelling is deliberate -- on players' helmets perpetuates a stereotype that mentally ill people are violent and dangerous. "To sell this message of fear and hate to the XFL's target audience of teen-age boys and young men takes America back to the days when people with mental illness were locked away in institutions. The Memphis team even goes so far as to call its headquarters 'The Asylum,'" Faenza said. It is more likely for the mentally ill to be the victim of violence that to perpetrate it, the advocacy group said. Ehrhart said his team's name was selected at the league level and has nothing to do with mental illness.
"We're thoughtful and we're sensitive about that," Ehrhart said, "and we're just about the fun and the enthusiasm."
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