Call to Scalp Washington's Nickname
Once
again the Washington National Football team has come into controversy. With
once again a familiar theme, the NFL teams nickname the Washington ‘Redskins’. American
Indian group Oneida Indian Nation on October 30th called on the
National Football League to use its powers to forcefully change the
controversial name. (Mail Online) Not only has this American Indian group made
complaints but also congress has made its point to the NFL franchise.
Previously in May 10 members of congress sent a letter to Washington owner Dan
Snyder in addition to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and 31 other NFL teams.
(Huffington Post) Urging the name change due to harm and lowered self-esteem
amongst Native Americans, especially amongst the younger community. In addition
earlier in the year the National Congress had even issued to the team a
statement opposing its nickname. Saying that it is time that the “Washington
football team join the 21st century” and that they should leave the
“mockery and racism in the past where it belongs”. (Huffington Post)
Although there is clear outrage
from officials on the controversial NFL nickname, it seems most of the public
do not agree with what they have to say. A recent poll showed the 79 percent of
people do not think that Washington should change their name. This is also in
accordance with the Washington Redskins owner Mr Snyder when he spoke with USA
today on the issue. Stating that he “will never change the name of the team”,
he believes “redskin fans understand the great tradition and what it’s all
about and what it means”. (Huffington Post) On the other side of this is Oneida
Indian Nation Representative Ray Halbritter and what he had to say about the
term ‘redskin’. Stating “the use of the r-word is not a unifying force nor does
it convey respect. It is the very word people heard when they were dragged by
gunpoint off their land”. (Mail Online) Halbritter has also written to the NFL
commissioner reasoning that he has not taken the necessary action to deal with
this racist term. That the authority being used is far below those that are
used for simple issues such as salary cap violations, on-field celebrations
that don’t reflect well on the game and punishing off-field misconduct by team
officials. (ESPN NFL)
When you delve further into the
issue that is present with the Washington NFL team, it seems to only get worse
for the franchise. Under the dictionary definition of the term is simply says
“American Indian” with a disclaimer “usually offensive”. Now this doesn’t help
the NFL team in its case of believe the term is not offensive and should be
kept. Although evidence points towards the team name should be changed Daniel
Snyder continues to press his point further, shown by the letter he sent out to
all of the Washington fans. “After 81 years, the team name “R*******” continues
to hold the memories and meaning of where we came from, who we are, and who we
want to be in the years to come”. (Bleacher Report) It is evident that there is
still a lot of progress that needs to be made before any compromise arises.
What is an interesting development
on the issue is that an increasing number of reporters and media companies are
refusing to use the term ‘redskins’. Joel Barkin wrote to Mr Snyder confirming
the drop of the name amongst the media. Saying that “It’s a name that
journalists across the world of sports are simply refusing to use”. Continuing
on to say that the “brand is going to lead to more protests, boycotts and
lawsuits”.
The way I see it is the
Washington Redskins are fighting a war which they simply won’t win. The US is a
cultural melting pot where equality is encouraged everywhere in their daily
lives, it’s an issue that they have been dealing with for most of their
history. The fact that Mr Snyder is keeping the name purely based on the
reasons of it being their history as a team for so long is one that won’t
stand. People will begin to weigh up which is more important, the retention of
a NFL teams name or stopping the racial offense towards American Indians. There
has been plenty of other instances where professional sports teams have changed
their name for the greater good. The Washington Bullets did not need to change
their name, but did so due to the rise of gun-related violence. The Tampa Bay
Devil Rays simply dropped the devil from their name of their own accord. It
clearly wouldn’t be difficult for just a simple name change for the respective
NFL team. But as such the owner is sticking to his guns and will continue to
refuse even the thought of a name change, to satisfy the out cries of American
Indians. The NFL has shown how seriously it takes the Oneida Indian Nation bid
to change the Redskins’ name, when the commissioner did not even attend the
meeting. To encourage equality amongst all races in the United States the NFL
needs to clearly take a larger stance on the issue and encourage or force
Washington to address the problem at hand. This problem doesn’t look like it’s
going away until the controversial ‘Redskins’ have been changed.
References:
Hall M.
(2013, October 31). American Indians call on the NFL to force Redskins name
change as the league and owner stand by the controversial moniker.
Mail Online. Retrieved from
Atkins L. (2013, June 5). It’s Time to Scalp the Washington
Redskins’ Nickname.
Huff
Post Sports. Retrieved from
Schottey M. (2013, October 31). Washington Redskins Name
Change Would Be a Win-Win for Everyone.
Bleacher
Report. Retrieved from
Van Natta Jr D. (2013, October 31). Oneida, NFL meet about
Redskins.
ESPN
NFL. Retrieved from
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9903563/oneida-nation-meets-nfl-leadership-seek-washington-redskins-name-mascot-change
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