It’s Time to Change the Name of the Washington Redskins
66I mentioned this issue in the first paragraph of an article I wrote on Washington’s NFL professional (American) football team. The more I thought about it the more I felt a stronger statement had to be made on the subject.
I turns out that the football franchise won a court battle over the name on a technicality. On May 15,2009 the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the team without addressing the complaint that the name was racist. They ruled in favor of the team because the Native/Americans that brought the suet waited too long to file. What’s up with that? Were dealing with human rights and the court is hiding behind a technicality. I think color plays a big role in this and that color is green, or maybe gold. It is the old golden rule; the one with the gold makes the rules. The team organization had the nerve to make a statement saying that they were pleased that the court upheld the validity of the trademark; what bologna.
How can a team that represents the capital of the United States have such a name in this day and age? I don’t blame the originators, who actually started the team in Boston, because they didn’t know any better at the time. We do know better now and it’s time that it is done. I am calling on Daniel Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins, to change the name of the team and to do it by next season. This team and the Washington Metro area do not have a moral leg to stand on in any argument against this request.
This issue has been brought up in the past but it was allowed to die with no action taken. I understand the motive of the team. To change the name gives them no bang for the buck. I little good press from being sensitive will not outweigh the cost. They would have to spend a great deal of money changing uniforms, logos, banners, signs, advertising, not to mention all of the merchandise on the market. It would cost them a bunch, but this organization just spent one hundred million dollars for one player’s contract, I would think the cost of this effort would be in the noise compared to that kind of spending.
As I said in my previous article, I don’t think that anyone means to insult Native/Americans, but Native/Americans have not been consulted on the issue. It is not for the rest of us to determine if Native/Americans are insulted; it is up to them. It was Native/Americans that brought the suet so we know that, at least some of them were insulted. Native/Americans have been through plenty and they deserve a bit of respect. I will not try to relate Native/American history from Plymouth Rock to Wounded Knee, but I will mention one fact that is overlooked in history. Before Africans were brought to North America as slaves, the colonists tried to enslave Native/Americans. The effort failed and the colonists turned their attention elsewhere.
Before my European friends become too shocked and dismayed by the previous statement I would have to remind them that their armies completely slaughtered the central and southern Native/Americans into total extinction. These civilizations were building up and were well along in their development before the conquering Europeans showed up. The Europeans had only their conquering armies in the new world; they left their moral center home. The American army was closer to a moral center and as a result, they could not drive the northern Native/Americans into extinction, but it was close.
I guess I have been a bit surprised over the years by the lack of interest of the people in the Washington area on this issue. This area has a very large African/American population and if there is a group that should be sensitive about being identified by the color of ones skin it would be African/Americans. They fought for over two centuries to get passed that and they’re still fighting. I would think that a term like Redskin would rub them the wrong way, but apparently that’s not the case and I have to wonder why.
Daniel Snyder, it’s time to do the right thing. Begin the task of changing the name of this team. No amount of money, team history, or team tradition can justify the continued use of this racial slur. Show the world that a team residing in the capital of the United States deserves a better name. The Washington Bullets changed their name to the Washington Wizards when the name Bullets offended people trying to survive on the dangerous streets of this city. If an NBA team can do it, an NFL team can do it.
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I understand your position, and I agree that forcing the team to change is not the best approach. I still maintain only Native/Americans can say if it is offensive. If the team had a name that showed more honor to the Native/Americans it might be different, but pointing out the color of ones skin is just too crude in this day and age.
That's very true, only the person being offended can say if they are or are not being offended. I don't know if I agree that skin color as an identifier is bad or good, I think if we eliminate all distinctions, especially cultural, we will lose the ability to see color at all, to be free to express our thoughts.
I know it sounds crude to you and many others, but I would not be offended if people singled me out as "whitey." If they meant harm, and they were stopped from using that term, they would just find another way to criticize me.
Was and is the term, "Redskin," meant to be derogatory? I find it irritating that although the "N" word has been eliminated from civilized vocabulary, I hear black kids using it on each other in a taunting or even friendly way. Of course this has something to do with their feeling of cultural isolation in a white world, but I am offended by their use of that word. But they are free to do what they want and I can not tell them to limit their speech. It seems a niggling matter in the end.
Again the Native/American should have the call. Teh Washington NBA basketball team used to be called the Bullets. They changed because people were offended and I believe Redskins to be a worse name that the Bullets.
I understand your opinion. Thanks for the great hub and the stimulating comments, keep hubbing!
Alexander Mark says:
3 months ago
You made me rethink my position on the matter, since when I heard about it, my thought was that it was unimportant. But as you explained in the beginning, the Redskins were being sued by people who felt they were being mistreated because of the name. Is it a racial slur? I don't think it is a solid area to argue, however, a people are being offended. It is ridiculous to say that the court decided to side with the team if the case was thrown out on a technicality.
However, there are 2 sides to this. One is yes, it can be considered a racial slur. Second is that many of the terms thrown around 100 years ago were not considered harmful or offensive, although one could certainly interpret the intent of the term depending on how it was used. I don't think Redskins was in any way meant to defame Indians, and instead might even be interpreted as a compliment. In this day, it isn't appropriate because it refers to a certain group as being warlike, which obviously doesn't describe any Indians today, and therefore misrepresents them.
So should the name be changed? Yes. Should the team be forced to change it? Absolutely not. If we are attempting to be more civil and culturally advanced, we will prove nothing by forcing others into that philosophy.
Overall, I loved this article because I did change my stance on whether it is appropriate to keep that name or not. But I also feel that is not something to get excited about. Most human beings feel offended in one way or another every day, and the best thing to do is to learn to deal with it.