Anthony Davis is Officially a Pelican

The New Orleans Hornets have announced that they will officially become the New Orleans Pelicans next season.

The Hornets announced yesterday that they are going ahead with the name change. The team color scheme will be blue, gold and red.

Here is more from ESPN.com:

The nickname Hornets "didn't mean anything to this community," Benson said. "The pelican represents New Orleans, just like the Saints. They have incredible resolve. If they can do that, the team can do the same."


The brown pelican is Louisiana's state bird and has become identified with efforts to restore Louisiana's coast, which has been damaged extensively by the 2010 BP oil spill and erosion from Katrina and other storms. Images of the pelicans covered with oil were plentiful after the oil spill.

The brown pelican was taken off the endangered species list in 2009.
"We're raising an entire generation to be very mindful to what happened to our coastal restoration," said Rita Benson LeBlanc, Benson's granddaughter and vice chairman of the board for the Hornets and the Saints. "Give it time, and I think everyone will be inspired (by the name change). It's for a greater purpose."

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