redskins-logo
Opinion

What’s In a Name? NFL Washington Redskins Name Controversy

“Hail to the Redskins! Hail victory! Braves on the warpath!” Fans of the Washington Redskins will recognize these words as the lyrics to their team’s fight song, which is played at FedEx Field whenever their team wins a game.

But to people who are not fans of the team, or the NFL for that matter, this song may appear to perpetuate a negative stereotype about Native Americans.

With a record of 3-8, the Redskins have not had a good season on the field by any stretch. Off the field, this season has also seen the team embroiled in a furious debate as to whether or not the franchise needs to change its name to something more politically correct.

The latest chapter in this controversy was written when Latino and African American groups rallied outside of FedEx Field Monday night before the team’s 21-point loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

The issue has even drawn comments from President Obama, who said that Redskins owner, Dan Snyder, should change the name of his storied franchise.

However, Snyder wrote an open letter to fans of his organization back in October which gives the origins of the team’s name and how it is not as offensive as it appears on its face.

Snyder tells of growing up a Redskins fan and attending games at what was then the Robert F. Kennedy Stadium. He also provides historical insight about how the team began in 1932 as the Boston Braves then underwent a name change the following year, becoming the Boston Redskins. “On that inaugural Redskins team, four players and our Head Coach were Native Americans,” Snyder said. “The name was never a label. It was, and continues to be, a badge of honor.”

The letter goes on to mention how in 1971, coach George Allen met with members of the Red Cloud Athletic Fund on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota to design the controversial logo that is currently emblazoned on the side of the team’s helmets.

Snyder says that the name is “a symbol of everything we stand for: strength, courage, pride and respect – the same values we know guide Native Americans.”

The letter also cites data from the Annenberg Public Policy Center, which says that 90 percent of the 1,000 Native Americans they polled did not find the team’s name offensive and that in April 2013, an Associated Press poll found 79 percent of respondents believed the Redskins’ name should stay the same while a scant 11 percent said the name should change.

In May, Sirius/XM’s NFL Radio interviewed Robert Green, the former Chief of the Patawomeck Tribe, who said he would be offended if the team did change their name.

Green said this movement is “an attempt by somebody… to completely remove the Native American identity from anything and pretty soon… you have a wipeout in society of any reference to Native American people.

“You can’t rewrite history,” Green continued. “Yes there were some awful bad things done to our people over time, but naming the Washington football team the Redskins, we don’t consider to be one of those bad things.”

While many may feel the team’s name is insensitive, those same people need to also see that Green has a point. Frankly, if the Washington Redskins should be forced to change their name, then so should the Kansas City Chiefs, the Atlanta Braves, the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Blackhawks.

Why aren’t their names and logos considered offensive as well? As it says in Snyder’s letter, the team has been called the Redskins for the past 81 years. Why is it that the name has not been considered offensive until recently?

In this world of constant political correctness, we need to keep in mind that this issue is not intended to be some kind of political statement or something meant to demean an entire nation of people. It’s the name of a football franchise. That’s all.

The Redskins have been the Redskins for over eight decades and, as Snyder stated in his closing, “we owe it to our fans and coaches and players, past and present, to preserve that heritage.” If Chiefs fans are still allowed to “War Chant” and “Tomahawk Chop” at Arrowhead Stadium without insulting Native Americans, then Redskins Nation should continue to proudly sing “Hail to the Redskins” as their team continues to “fight for old D.C.”

PHOTO TAKEN from lowereasternshorenews.com