Is the New Orleans Saints Fleur-de-Lis Logo Offensive?

In the wake of the recent Confederate flag controversy currently dividing our country, it seems another historic symbol also conjures feelings of hurt for some. A symbol near and dear to New Orleanians everywhere: the fleur-de-lis.

"As an African I find it painful, and I think people whose ancestors were enslaved here may feel it even harder than I do as an African," Seck said.

That's right. The iconic symbol of our beloved city and our Saints actually has a troubled history, according to some historians.

The black code was a set of regulations adopted in Louisiana in 1724 from other French colonies around the world, meant to govern the state's slave population. Seck said those rules included branding slaves with the fleur de lis as punishment for running away.

"He would be taken before a court and the sentence would be being branded on one shoulder and with the fleur de lis, and then they would crop their ears," Seck said.

As New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu pushes for newly-offensive statues and symbols to be removed and/or renamed from prominent urban places, I can't help but wonder if the slippery slope leads all the way to our team's logo. It's crazy to think it would ever get to that point, but I'm not surprised by anything anymore.

The good news is that both historians quoted in the WWL-TV story don't consider the fleur-de-lis nearly as offensive as the Confederate flag. It's still offensive, but just a little bit, apparently. Not enough to break out the pitchforks. It is officially not Confederate-flag-offensive. So the Saints, and every single retail store in New Orleans, are probably safe.

What do you guys think?