Blackhawks statue outside United Center vandalized

The Blackhawks statue outside the United Center on Madison Street was vandalized early Monday morning.

The statue was painted black and placed under a tarp during the day Monday. It will be temporarily removed and sent in for repairs soon, a Blackhawks spokesperson said.

Orange paint was thrown over the Native American head logo, “land back” was spray-painted on the list of names on the base portion of the statue, and a number of phrases were spray painted on the concrete surrounding the statue.

Photos of the vandalism were tweeted at 2:50 a.m. Monday by a Twitter account with the username @zhigaagoong, a Native American phrase referring to the land around Chicago, and the title “No racist mascots.”

The Blackhawks announced in July they would stand behind their name and logo, which depicts the legendary Native American leader Black Hawk, shortly after the Washington NFL team announced they would drop their “Redskins” nickname.

The team announced later in July they would ban Native American headdresses at the United Center and increase support for Native American community organizations in Illinois.