On March 28, 1953, America's greatest athlete, Jim Thorpe, died in California. His wife, with legal rights to the disposition of his body, chose to bury him with honors in East Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania. Patricia Askew entered into an agreement with East Mauch Chunk and Mauch Chunk to merge and call the new borough Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania.

Now, 60 years later, the borough of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania is appealing a federal-court decision that opens the door to both repatriation of the remains of Jim Thorpe, and opens the Borough of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania to legal costs and penalties. This Jim Thorpe lawsuit has opened a can of worms that may ultimately be settled by whomever first runs out of time and money, a change in legislation, a negotiated settlement, or a decision by the Supreme Court.Here are 10 reasons why Jim Thorpe's remains should remain in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania.1. The court decided that, according to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, that the borough of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, is a museum. The Act has its problems, and this is one of them. No reasonable person would call the borough of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, a museum.2. The court decided that because the borough had trickle-down federal funding, it had received federal funds, a condition to be called a "museum" under NAGPRA. The borough has stated that it never directly received federal funds.3. NAGPRA contains language that, if there are multiple requests for disposition of the remains, the court must take such requests into account. Jim Thorpe had three families. The court case was filed by and continued by the children of his second wife. The borough represented the will of his third wife. Members of the family of his first wife have been outspoken about keeping Jim Thorpe's remains in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, but they were not allowed to participate in the lawsuit.4. NAGPRA is unconstitutional as it violates the Fourth, Fifth and 14th Amendments. The 14th Amendment's Equal Protection clause provides that: "no state shall ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." Since NAGPRA takes rights away from the lawful heirs and transfers these rights to others by way of the federal court, a violation of the unlawful seizure section of the Fourth Amendment, and this only applies to a single ethnic group, Native Americans, it does not pass constitutional muster. Under judicial interpretations of the Fifth Amendment, the 14th Amendment applies to the Federal government.5. NAGPRA also violates the Freedom of Religion provision of the First Amendment. Jim Thorpe was baptized and lived his life as a Roman Catholic. Roman Catholics believe that the widow has the right to interment of her husband. According to the rituals and common practice of the Roman Catholic Church, burial, entombment or inurnment is considered a final act that allows the body of the deceased to "rest in peace" while awaiting resurrection.6. The original plaintiff, Jack Thorpe, wrote in a 1990 letter, in which he concluded, "I believe that the town and the people of Jim Thorpe should be proud of what they have been able to build together ... I hope that one day we can return to "our town" and be a permanent part of the community and earn the right to be a Thorper. How could this same man turn 180 degrees around and sue the town that he once wanted to "earn the right to be a Thorper."7. It's about the money! In the original lawsuit, the plaintiff's attorneys petitioned for payment of their fees plus penalties. The judge said the case was about the rights to the remains and not about money. He also determined that their would be a minimal financial impact on the borough if the remains were repatriated. Now that the plaintiffs have won the trial, they are challenging the judge's determination that they are not entitled to fees and penalties.8. Waiting nearly 60 years to raise an objection is unreasonable. Even waiting over 15 years from when NAGPRA was passed is unreasonable. If this issue was so important, why did they wait so long? The answer is that Jim Thorpe's first family, led by Grace Thorpe, wanted Jim Thorpe to remain in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, and none of the children of the second wife felt they had the right to challenge her.9. The Jim Thorpe burial site is sacred ground. The Jim Thorpe Memorial was consecrated as Native American sacred ground in a ceremony supervised by Grace Thorpe.10. Jim Thorpe was neither a pure-bred Native American nor a Native American of a tribal lifestyle. Although Jim Thorpe was born in Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, he represented the United States in the Olympic and became an American citizen. Neither of his parents were pure-bred Native American. Were he not part Native American, he would be considered to be mixed race. Labeling Jim Thorpe as Native American might have some validity as applies to gaining rights, such as to inheriting property, but not to losing rights, such as the right to having his rightful heirs determine interment.The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act is a poorly written law. The intent of the NAGPRA legislation was to address long-standing claims by federally recognized tribes for the return of human remains and cultural objects unlawfully obtained from prehistoric, historic, former, and current Native American homelands. It was never intended to be applied to a modern man.Could it be that hungry lawyers fueled by a casino-connected tribe have found a way to confiscate the remains of a borough's namesake? What are they planning to do with the remains? No longer are they talking about moving Jim Thorpe's remains to a family burial site.What about the hundreds of lawfully buried Native Americans in places like Lehighton and Carlisle? Are they next to be sued, or is this more about the notoriety of the Jim Thorpe franchise than that the peacefulness of Jim Thorpe's soul?As the late plaintiff, Jack Thorpe, wrote in his 1990 letter to Joe Boyle, "I now feel that the remains of Jim Thorpe are in a good place and that he is at peace. I think that if dad were living today he would smile, shake someone's hand, pat another on the back, and say, 'This is a good place to be.'"