Ex-Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz Rips Claim That ‘Fighting Irish’ is Offensive: ‘Time for the Silent Majority to Stand Up’

Notre Dame fought back after their Fighting Irish leprechaun was deemed the fourth most-offensive mascot in college sports and predictably, the school has the unwavering support of their ex-football coach Lou Holtz.

“There are a lot of things in this world I don’t like, but this country gives you the freedom to say what you really feel,” Holtz told Steve Doocy on Fox and Friends.

After the Washington Football Team dropped their old moniker last year and the Cleveland Indians announced plans to rebrand as the Guardians, sports teams are starting to clean up their offensive nicknames. But the Fighting Irish and their leprechaun? That needs to stay, Holtz said defiantly.

“People don’t like the flag. They don’t like the Pledge of Allegiance. Everything in this world they don’t like. The Redskins. Good Lord knows. Let’s have the ability to stand up,” Holtz ranted. “I used to think that the First Amendment said I have the freedom of speech to say what I want, say what I feel. But let’s not be intimidated any longer. It’s time the silent majority stood up.”

“People, they get offended and they try to bully and try to shut ya up,” Holtz continued. “But I think it’s time for the silent majority to stand up and say no more. This is what we believe in, this is gonna go on. This is our country, this is the way it was founded.”

Holtz explained that the Fighting Irish name was derived from Notre Dame students fighting off the Ku Klux Klan in South Bend, IN nearly a century ago. Following the fight, a newspaper headline used the term “Fighting Irish.” So far, Notre Dame has defended the moniker from critics, expressing their plan to keep the Fighting Irish nickname and leprechaun mascot.

“It is worth noting … that there is no comparison between Notre Dame’s nickname and mascot and the Indian and warrior names (and) mascots used by other institutions such as the NFL team formerly known as the Redskins,” Notre Dame said in a statement to the Indy Star earlier this week. “None of these institutions were founded or named by Native Americans who sought to highlight their heritage by using names and symbols associated with their people.”

Watch above via Fox News.