Washington Redskins have to change their name, that day is not far now.
It has been years since the Name changing debate started but failed in gaining any momentum despite continuous attempts from the media and critics. In past 10 months there has been significant change in this due to combination of many respected members of media rejecting using “Redskins” name, resurgence of team in 2013 under stewardship of Robert Griffin III, increased awareness even in non-sporting media and President Obama’s equivocal statement regarding the issue. NO matter what you think of this debate one thing is for certain the name is not there to stay, it is just a question of how long. The NFL and franchise should realize by now that they have certainly lost control on this issue and the only way ahead is Name change solution (“Chase”).
Owner’s Response
Owner of Washington Redskins, Dan Snyder has mentioned he is not looking to change the team name as it is Badge of team’s honor. Roger Goodell (NFL Commissioner) said league needs to give attention to this issue and understand the problems of people feeling offended with the use the name – an understated altering in Goodell’s position that had supported to keep the name intact in past years.
In 2013, members of congress sent Snyder the owner of Redskins a letter to ask him to change the name of his team to anything which was less offensive than Redskins. The letter quoted: “Native Americans throughout the country consider the ‘R-word’ a racial, derogatory slur akin to the ‘N-word’ among African Americans or the ‘W-word’ among Latinos.” (“Arciero”)
Voice of Natives
The nickname of Redskins is presently being challenged in front of Trademark Trial and Appeal Board through case filed in 2006 by 5 Native Americans between the ages of 18-24. In March hearing of the case was held. The Native American group of petitioners needs to show how brand name “Washington Redskins” used to be disparaging to largely American natives population when the name was given trademark status from 1967 to 1990 (“Espn”).
Although the board cannot stop Redskins to use their name, but trademark loss will definitely hurt the team in financial terms due to loss of merchandising revenue, which the plaintiffs hope would be enough for the owner to change the name.
Support from President Obama
Controversy of Redskins and President Obama started recently when President Obama said that he believes that Redskins should change their name due to the racist and offensive nature of the name in today’s context. Although he agreed that it is understandable that fans of Redskins carry no insensitivity or offence with the logo, he still believes the name has to be changed.
“I’ve got to say that if I were the owner of the team and I knew that there was a name of my team – even if it had a storied history – that was offending a sizeable group of people, I’d think about changing it,” (“Arciero”) President Obama admitted.
This support from President Obama has been highly appreciated by leaders of Native Americans who want the name to be altered.
Others Sources Influencing the Issue
One member of council of Washington D.C. has said that he will present a resolution asking Washington Redskins to alter the nickname they have been using as it is “derogatory and racist” and “time is up for the change”. David Grosso has given suggestion for name change and asks to call the team “Redtails” to honor Tuskegee Airmen, a leading group of black pilots who served United States during World War II.
"You can still sing the song and everything," Grosso, mentioned to The Washington Post and sing "Hail to the Redtails." (Espn). The idea of Redtails is just a suggestion from Grosso.
CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) has demanded to Washington Redskins to alter their Disrespectful and derogatory name. They have demanded that Roger Goodell (NFL commissioner) and Dan Snyder (Redskins Owner) should take immediate action on this pressing issue (“May”).
Conclusion
It is essential to change the name of Washington Redskins as it is racially harmful the Native Indians. Despite Daniel Snyder claiming that the name will not be changed, there has continuous pressure from the Native Indians who are trying to prove the Redskins is offensive to their community. This issue has garnered media attention and support from President Obama who believes the name has to be changed as it is racist and offensive to the natives. Even the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has started changing his initial stance and has started to give the issue another glare but has insisted that the final decision will be of Redskins owner Daniel Snyder.
Works Cited
Chase, C. “The Redskins are going to change their name someday, so deal with it”. http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/10/redskins-change-name-debate-obama/. usatoday.com. 12 Nov. 2013. Web. 14 Nov. 2013
“Poll calls for Redskins name change”. http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9230556/dc-pol-suggests-redtails-name-change-washington-redskins. espn.com. 1 May 2013. Web. 14 Nov. 2013
Arciero, “R. Obama Redskins: President Obama calls Redskins offensive, supports name change”. http://www.examiner.com/article/obama-redskins-president-obama-calls-redskins-offensive-supports-name-change. examiner.com. 13 Nov. 2013.Web. 14 Nov. 2013
May, C. “CAIR demands Washington Redskins change ‘derogatory’ name, mascot”. http://dailycaller.com/2013/11/13/cair-demands-washington-redskins-change-derogatory-name-mascot/. dailycaller.com. 13 Nov. 2013. Web. 14 Nov. 2013
Mcnally, B. “NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on pressure to change Redskins name”. http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/redskins-watch/2013/sep/11/nfl-commissioner-roger-goodell/. washingtontimes.com. 11 Sep. 2013. Web. 14 Nov. 2013
