Tell Washington's football team to ditch the 'Redskins' racist moniker

[Still a Democrat]

After a recent visit to the National Museum of the American Indian on the Mall, I'm wondering how much longer our city will tolerate having a football team known as "Redskins."

It's a racist name, patently offensive - and the incongruence is simply ridiculous: a world-class institution devoted to showcasing Native American heritage in a city whose leading sports franchise makes a mockery of that heritage.

A film now showing at the museum, called "Reel Injun," chronicles more than a hundred years of insidious depictions of Native Americans in movies. We have been woefully misinformed, and our kids are still being brainwashed.

...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/04/AR2011010405217.html

[cherokeeprogressive]

1. This card carrying member of the Cherokee Tribe says

Give it a rest.

[Still a Democrat]

4. I've been told it's the equivalent of the N-bomb to Native Americans

Not accurate?

[Kaleva]

7. I'd have to look it up again but I believe most Native Americans don't care about the issue.

[cherokeeprogressive]

19. I'm sure there are some Native Americans who find it offensive.

None I am related to find it offensive, and none I know find it offensive.

I would imagine that there oh, about a thousand improvements to Native American life that would be more important than changing the name of a sports franchise.

[pintobean]

2. Only because they suck.

[Ken Burch]

3. Actually, before the early-60's, the Redskins were even MORE racist

In this case, the racism was played out in the team management's insistence(they were trying to make the 'Skins "The South's Team")on keeping the lineup all-white.

In those days, black people in D.C. used to say that the team colors were "burgundy, gold, and Caucasian".

[fortyfeetunder]

21. ..more on this

Even today, many in my circle of DC friends are steadfastly anti-Redskins fans for this very reason.

Another point of trivia, part of the team fight song, "Hail to the Redskins" had a countermelody to the tune of "Dixie" until civil rights pressure forced the establishment to drop it.

[KamaAina]

23. Some African Americans in DC remain Cowpies fans to this day

for that very reason.

I mean, seriesly, Cowpies fans? Couldn't they have gone with the Giants or something? :shrug:

[boppers]

5. What about the Celtics? The Vikings?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_sports_team_and_mascot_names

This is a long and diverse story.

[dsc]

10. those really aren't the same thing

Redskins itself is a slur unlike Celtic or Viking. If you called the Boston basketball franchise the Boston Micks then it would be equivalent.

[boppers]

11. The "Fighting Irish", perhaps?

There's a lot of questionable names at the link I provided. :(

[Renew Deal]

25. Yes, those anti-catholic bigots at Notre Dame should ashamed of themselves.

:shrug:

[Ken Burch]

28. I always thought the Notre Dame-Syracuse game should have been SCARIER than it was

I mean, c'mon...The FIGHTING IRISH Vs. THE ORANGEMEN?

Both sides should've been playing in balaclavas!

[Gaedel]

33. What do you call the biggest, toughest, meanest Polacks in the US?

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.

[jmowreader]

35. Keep the name, change the mascot

I think if I were Catholic I'd be a little embarrassed by the fact the mascot of the most famous Catholic University in America is a drunk leprechaun.

[eridani]

13. In keeping with the Redskins theme, the Vikings need to change their name

--to the Squareheads. The Celtics will have to become the Micks.

[Renew Deal]

26. I think it could be confusing havin two teams in the same division with almost identical names.

Knicks are the other team.

[Ken Burch]

31. Still..."Knicks V. Micks" has kind of a sound to it, dontcha think?

n/t.

[Ken Burch]

29. No...The Celtics should become the Rakish Paddies....

That way, their fight song would be an Irish reel!

[KamaAina]

24. The Vancouver Canucks?

Mom grew up near Detroit. One day when she was visiting Aunt Agnes in town, she walked across the Ambassador Bridge into Canada. She came back and proudly told the grownups, "I walked across the bridge and met some Canucks!"

She got her mouth washed out with soap but good.

[Bethesda Home]

34. What about the state of Iowa?

Or the Buffalo Bills. That name probably offends some people named William. They should change it to "Buffalo Invoices".

I'm 1/8 Cherokee myself and a Braves fan. I only know one person who is offended by that name but she seems to be offended by most things.

Maybe some Iowans could give us some insight on what they want their state to be re-named.

[JANdad]

6. Boring.....

Next topic please...and btw...un-rec for the stupid

[Nye Bevan]

8. "A 2002 poll commissioned by Sports Illustrated found that 75% of Native Americans had no objections

to the "Redskins" name.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_redskins#Native_American_mascot_controversy

Get back to us if and when a majority of Native Americans find the name offensive.

[JonLP24]

16. I can't find polling information at the link provided

Only reason why I looked is because a similar poll was done but no one polled anyone in Alaska even though they have around 240 tribes, which is almost half of all tribes in the US. However the poll doesn't say it did or didn't.

Also here is the National Congress of American Indians position on this.

"The National Congress of American Indians strongly condemns the use of sports team mascots that claim to portray Native Americans and Native cultures in a positive light...it is only with Native Americans that this practice continues. It is a national insult and does nothing to honor the Native peoples of this country."
http://www.ncai.org/ncai/resource/documents/governance/NCAIposis.htm

This doesn't prove a majority, I admit. However SI doesn't provide (that I can find) polling information to see if the study is flawed. Either way some aren't bothered while others are. I think if a significant amount of people are offended, than a change is necessary IMO.

[Joe the Revelator]

9. If Native Americans don't mind...

Hail to the Redskins
Hail Victory

[Kaleva]

12. I'd rather the Redskins lose every game but keep their name.

[madinmaryland]

22. + 1 million!!1!!

[Statistical]

14. The sad thing is there are real and crippling issues affecting the Native American population.

The poverty, lack of higher education, higher rate of alcoholism, the fact that reservations are often horribly underfunded. Lets not forget that even today the federal govt conspires to allow corporations to steal mineral and water rights from the small sections of land Native Americans can still call their own...

Nope the author isn't worried about those problems. The name of a football team that is what should be focus of public outrage.

[Kaleva]

15. Getting the Redskins to change their name would be adequete compensation for all the rest.

Seriously though, I do agree that there are far more pressing issues the Native Americans face.

On a side note, almost all the Native Americans around where I live refer to themselves as "Indian" or "Ojibwa". It's only on line that I myself use the descriptive "Native American".

[denbot]

17. Chiricahua Apache here, and I don't feel offended in the least.

Most Indian's (yes I used that word) I know don't care about that team's name. A long time ago I asked my sweat leader/medicine man about similar issues. He said that since so much culture has been lost, and due to his feeling that the Indian people were going to be extinct, being remembered, even if it is a team's name is honoring the long battle we fought to retain our lands.

[kwassa]

18. 67% of Native Americans have no problem with the name Redskins

and I say this as someone who spent much time, and failed, to get the name of my high school team, the Indians, changed.

I had heard before this that Native American reservation kids wore Redskins jackets.

I would cut-and-paste this following, but I can't. Read this excerpt and discover how they feel about it.

http://books.google.com/books?id=xB2YKGMWFUYC&pg=PA78&lpg=PA78&dq=redskins+jackets+reservations&source=bl&ots=lByfKOfIi4&sig=KjzKFoB7HfWyu4Xrb9Fb3a8ev74&hl=en&ei=T4IyTYCuNMP88AbtkfDoCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=redskins%20jackets%20reservations&f=false

[Bill McBlueState]

30. 33% of Native Americans have a problem with the name Redskins

Those are people who might become fans of the team and start buying their merchandise if they changed the name. Seems like a good business decision to change it. But Dan Snyder is not known for good business decisions.

[NaturalHigh]

20. Uh...no. Yawn.

It's not that I don't hate the team, but I don't care about this issue.

[Bill McBlueState]

27. Yep, they should change it

Substantial numbers of people find the name offensive, and there's no good reason to keep it. Why not change it? Sell some more jerseys, get some more fans.

[Codeine]

32. You're either a fan of a team or you're not.

Changing the name of ChivasUSA won't make me like the fuckers, nor will I stop being an LA Galaxy fan if they become the Los Angeles Gravid Red Snappers. Same principal applies to the Redskins.

[jmowreader]

36. I don't think they'll get more fans the way they're playing

For God's sake, man, they lost to the Detroit Lions! Who would root for a team like that?