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Big deal. Does anyone really care if the 12 remaining Native Americans are offended?
By Michael Silver, Yahoo! Sports
Last Friday, in a judicial decision that hinged on a legal technicality, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., upheld the right of the local pro football team to keep its unconscionable nickname.
Gloated team attorney Bob Raskopf, “It’s a great day for the Redskins and their fans and their owner, Dan Snyder.”
Alas, it was another shameful day for America.
In clinging to the most racially offensive moniker held by a major U.S. professional sports team since the Emancipation Proclamation – yes, I know, since forever – the franchise continues to offend some Native Americans and assault the sensibilities of a citizenry that should be long past such insensitive and shallow depictions.
How can a large majority of us not be offended? Imagine trying to explain “Redskins” to a foreign visitor or a time-traveler from the future? Every time I say the word, I throw up in my mouth a little and wonder why there is no widespread outrage.
I’ve heard all the arguments about why this name should be allowed to exist, and they move me about as much as Jim Zorn’s red-zone offense in a tight game against a strong opponent. (Sorry – I realize that was a cheap shot. Besides, I wouldn’t want to get ‘Skins fans ticked off at me or anything.)
You can spare me the protestations about how the name is actually a tribute to Native Americans, or how other allegedly similar groups (Vikings? Really?) are also consigned to mascot status. You can skip the talk about the importance of the team name to its fans or the tradition that would be compromised were it to be changed.
I’m not hearing it, because if I close my eyes and think about where we are as a society and the fact that this name still exists, it’s a complete travesty on both visceral and logical levels.
Would we “honor,” say, Chicago’s African-American population by calling its NFL team the Brownskins?
If the NBA placed a franchise in Hawaii, would it consider paying homage to the islands’ Asian influences by competing as the Yellowskins?
And while I’m sure we could all come up with some Jewish slurs to continue the analogy, I submit that an anti-Semetic major league owner like Marge Schott might’ve been quite comfortable fielding a team known as the Foreskins.
Ridiculous? Absolutely. And Redskin is just as absurd, whether you’ve been conditioned to regard it as normal or not.
Worse, it’s blatantly offensive, and don’t bother trotting out the examples of certain Native Americans who regard it as a sign of great respect. The fact that even a handful of them were upset enough to sue to stop the name from existing, a legal fight that has gone on for 17 years and counting, should be enough to let decency prevail. And if you’re angrily composing an email telling me how the name’s meaning to you and your fellow fans supersedes the desires of these people not to be publicly lampooned, I’m going to bet my last Abe Lincoln note that you’re not a member of a traditionally oppressed minority group.
If changing the name of the established team in the nation’s capital seems so unthinkable, you might be forgetting about the Washington Wizards, who from 1963-1997 were known as the Bullets. Two years earlier owner Abe Pollin had announced that, because he had grown uncomfortable with the nickname’s violent overtones, the NBA franchise would be rechristened, and a fan contest ensued.
So the Bullets became the Wizards, and guess what? The sun came up the next morning, the rivers continued to flow to the oceans, and Calbert Cheaney kept getting beat off the dribble. (OK, that was a cheap shot, too. Just making sure you’re still paying attention.)
Things change. Societies evolve. The improbable becomes reality. Remember, there’s a family that recently moved to a D.C. residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, and its presence there made a statement to the world about how far our country has come in terms of racial enlightenment.
Since the words “President” and “Obama” became Siamese twins (oops, another outdated term), it has never been so tough to make the argument that in the United States, a person’s skin color is a primary means by which he/she is judged.
Unless, of course, you’re part of that minuscule slice of the population that pays attention to pro football. Those of us, like our current commander in chief, who fall into that category need to think long and hard about our tolerance for such a preposterously backward name in such a con uous setting.
The Redskins may have had their day in court and prevailed, at least for the time being. It’s my sincere hope that before too long, the court of public opinion is far less forgiving.
Big deal. Does anyone really care if the 12 remaining Native Americans are offended?
Seriously, this is dumb. It's just a name of a team, get over it. I swear some people aren't happy unless they're complaining about something. Pretty soon PETA is going to start clamoring on about how they can't use animal names because that's degrading and hurts the animals feelings.
If you want to complain about name changes what about the Lakers? There are no Lakes in LA.
Utah Jazz: Salt Lake City is not overwhelmed with jazz clubs left and right like New Orleans is, where the Jazz were originally from. Heck, outside Salt Lake, you'd be lucky to find anything civilized. It is one giant combo of desert, mountains, snow and one big city.
Seriously though, it's not that big a deal.
The key problem with this issue is that virtually no one cares.
The Robstown High School mascot is the Cotton Picker, you don't see Mexicans in an uproar about that.
not yet
There's only 7 left?
that's the number of Native Americans that were plaintiffs in the suit.There's only 7 left?
The reason they lost the case according to the judge was that "they waited to long to file"
Having lived in the area and a devout Redskin fan myself I can actually sympathize with both sides of the argument. I can sympathize with native american groups because yes, it is a racially offensive name. But on the other hand the Redskins nickname is apart of a great and long held tradition in the Washington, DC area. This is why the movement to change the name of the team can never get any traction. It would be like changing the cowboys name to ranch hands or buckaroos or the cowpigs which is what I call them. It would never fly.
I agree cowboys could be offesive to many people
back west,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
South Texas Mexicans aren't big pussies. They don't give 2 s about it.
So it's racially offensive, big deal. People need to quit getting their vaginas hurt at everything and get this country back to having a pair of balls. All this PC bull is ridiculous.
Wonder what Tonto has to say about this
Have to remember that one. Wonder if any of these teams named after Native Americans and their tribes give anything to surrounding Native American communities financially for their use of these namesakes/symbols in sports? The Indians' logo and the Redskins' name just need to be banished.
This is America. You can call yourselves whatever you want. You don't like it, don't watch.
Like our American president proclaimed: "It's time for a change."
I think New York should change their name from the Giants to something less offensive to overweight and large people.
The Cowboys should change to the more gender-neutral Dallas Cowpersons.
Somalian pirates may be offended by the name Buccaneers. That should be changed as well.
eh.....
quite a bit different.
If the Warner Bros. (which I grew up on btw) could clean up the stereotypical overtones in their cartoons for children over the years, grown adults should be able to realize when something is not only offensive but an exploitation of another group's culture and take it upon themselves to come out of the dark ages.
If it's so offensive, why do they wait for so long to do something about it? This has been the name since 1930's, surely if it was SO offensive someone would have done something before now. Why wait till the 2000's before complaining? If I was offended by something I wouldn't wait 70 years before complaining.
Native Americans have had bigger things to complain about over the past 70 years.
One thing at a time.
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