A bit of a thorny issue for some on this side of the pond.
Quite a few major sports franchises here have names related to native Americans - examples being the Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves in baseball and the Kansas City Chiefs in NFL.
But the most controversial for many years has been my local NFL team, the Washington Redskins. They’ve been under intense pressure for years to change the name, but owner Daniel Snyder has always resisted - until now.
One reason the Redskins have had more pressure than those other franchises is due to the perceived derogatory nature of the name. (On a lesser level, there are active groups campaigning for the Indians to change their name for similar reasons. The Chiefs and Braves are also under pressure, but it is significantly less intense, possibly due to their more positive names.)
It appears that the George Floyd incident and the raised focus on racism in recent weeks has ramped the pressure on the Redskins up further, with major sponsors, led by FedEx and PepsiCo threatening to withdraw funding if the team name remained unchanged. And the pressure has now resulted in Snyder having to concede defeat. A new name has not yet been announced, but there have been emotional reactions from those on both sides of the debate.
Comments
Not going to post it but been a long running campaign to get the Cleveland Indians baseball team to change their logo.
Search New York Jews/San Francisco Chinaman logos to get the point.
It’s no surprise that the Indians are considering a name change too.
(And in an odd twist, I happen to be away from Washington at the moment - staying in a place near Lake Erie - about 15 miles from Cleveland!)
The Seminoles are happy for Florida State to use their name , and I think where it is specific the tribe should make that decision.
Welcome - The D.C. Redskins
Didn't the Indians drop the highly offensive smiley faced Indian caricature (equivalent to a golliwog) from their logo and merchandise a couple of years ago now?
It’s a testament to how this forum has changed from 10 years ago when I was formally a member, that 20 comments in and not one “PC gone mad” (or worse) type comment.
Snyder the week after their biggest sponsor FedEx asked for the name to be changed, along with support fro, Pepsi, Nike and Bank of America - "we want to keep our sponsors, fans and community apprised of our thinking as we go forward. Today, we are announcing we will be retiring the Redskins name and logo upon completion of this review.”
Money talks.
Conditions in the camp were challenging.The cold was 'extreme sharp', and a freezing north west wind whipped through the makeshift dwellings. The Indians seemed unaffected, claiming that their red body paint , made of the root pocone mixed with oil made them impervious ( this not their natural complexion, was the reason they became known as red Indians).
From the book Savage Kingdom, Virginia and the founding of English America. Well worth a read.
everyone claiming it’s a good idea, and it’s about time etc. BUT does everyone actually know why they chose Redskins?
It was chosen to honour the Native Americans who believed (and still do) that the colour Red was a colour that represented power and strength. To believed it how the power to protect them that they in fact used the colour to paint their faces when going into battle (war paint as we know it).
So, far from being racist or anti something or other, it is in fact there honouring a minority group. The various organisation in the US who now represent Native Americans who said they see no problem with the name or logo and see it more as a honour of the memory.
So rather than making their oppression, it reminds them of their history, power, beliefs and security!
But, others seem to have forgotten the meaning of it, and are feeling offended on their behalf and objected.....and won