After a barrage of social-media posts over Ohio State University's decision to cancel Brutus Buckeye's planned appearance in this weekend's Pride Parade, OSU officials have changed their minds. By Thursday afternoon, Brutus was back on the parade route - along with rival Rufus the Bobcat from Ohio University.

After a barrage of social-media posts over Ohio State University�s decision to cancel Brutus Buckeye�s planned appearance in this weekend�s Pride Parade, OSU officials have changed their minds.

By Thursday afternoon, Brutus was back on the parade route � along with rival Rufus the Bobcat from Ohio University.

OU�s LGBT Center director had announced that he'd don the Rufus costume and march in the parade after hearing that Brutus had backed out.

Criticism came in a flurry Wednesday night and early Thursday, after Ohio State said Brutus would not be at Pride as initially planned because spirit coaches, reacting to last weekend�s deadly shooting inside a gay nightclub in Orlando, were concerned for his safety during the Columbus LGBTQ event.

But shortly after Ohio University announced Rufus� plans Thursday, there was a change of heart. Ohio State announced that, �After additional consultation and reviews, the spirit program has decided to reinstate Brutus Buckeye� in the parade.

He�ll be joined, a statement said, by �a campuswide group� of faculty, staff and senior officials, including President Michael V. Drake.

And though it all came together on June 16 � National Mascot Day � there is no word whether Brutus will be walking with Rufus.

Rufus would be delfin bautista, director of OU�s LGBT Center. Bautista decided to personally don the Rufus costume for the Pride Parade because the students who typically play Rufus are away from Athens for the summer.

�In an hour, I may be asked to do cartwheels,� bautista said, laughing. The decision to wear the suit after the Orlando shooting, in which 49 people were killed and 53 injured, came because bautista wants Columbus to come together as a community and honor its LGBT members.

�Yes, take precautions, yes be careful, but we can�t live our lives in fear,� bautista said. � Pride in Columbus takes on different meanings. We�re celebrating who we are, and we�re doing so without fear.�

Karla Rothan, executive director of Stonewall Columbus, which organizes the Pride festival and parade, said she thinks more people will participate in this year's festivities, which run through Sunday, to show their solidarity in the wake of the Orlando shootings.

"We feel this is going to be one of the safest and biggest Prides we�ve had," Rothan said. "People who haven�t marched in years are coming out to march."

At least one previous joint appearance by college mascots Brutus and Rufus showed something less than solidarity. During an OSU/OU football game in September 2010, the OU student wearing the Rufus suit tackled Brutus twice as Brutus led Ohio State cheerleaders onto the field before the game. Video of the sneak attack went viral and that student was forever banned from the Rufus suit.

Perhaps the other Columbus mascots appearing in the Pride Parade � the Blue Jackets� Stinger, the Crew Cat and Krash and Lou Seal of the Clippers � will help keep the peace on Saturday.

etate@dispatch.com

@byemilytate

mcedward@dispatch.com

@MaryMoganEdward