Brouhaha haka: Pregame ritual — which BYU does — is still under a spotlight

PROVO — For a nonathletic pregame ritual permeating sports from the Pop Warner and prep levels to World Cup and Olympic events and from the Pacific Islands to the Lone Star State and everywhere in between, the art of haka — Maori dances — is used to celebrate, commemorate, motivate and even intimidate.

As well as infuriate, since a haka can be polarizing among fans and casual observers. Does it have a place? Should only those of Polynesian heritage participate, or is it open to all? Is it seen as a threat or challenge to an opponent, similar to flashing a gang sign?

With the Ka Mate version performed by the BYU football team in its pregame routines drawing its own attention for three seasons running, haka is back in the news again. In its football game at Louisiana Tech last weekend, the University of Hawaii performed its haka and drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty even before the start of play, violating the WAC's policy on pre- and post-game choreographed routines, including dances and chants.

In a late August e-mail to WAC member schools, conference commissioner Karl Benson reminded that such routines should be done when the opposing team is off the field or court and in the locker room. He also urged visiting schools not to do the haka.

One WAC school complained to Benson last year about Hawaii's pregame dance, which has included a slash-across-the-throat gesture, while a referee officiating at the Warriors' Aloha Stadium also reported he felt uncomfortable with the performance.

With a haka part of BYU's routine under third-year coach Bronco Mendenhall, no other Mountain West Conference school has formally complained to league officials, nor does the conference have a specific policy beyond its normal game-management guidelines about pre- and post-game dances, chants and routines, said Javan Hedlund, MWC associate commissioner for communications.

A pregame haka certainly didn't originate locally with BYU — other schools such as Utah State and Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho) were doing haka a number of years ago. It's been a staple with the nationally renowned Highland High rugby team, and local teams such as Bingham have adopted the practice.

Best known for the pregame ritual is the All Blacks, New Zealand's national rugby team currently competing in the World Cup. Other New Zealand national squads have followed suit — including the 2000 Olympic basketball team. The Kiwis, as they're known, gestured and gyrated their way through a pre-tipoff haka in front of the likes of Vince Carter, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett and the rest of Team USA.