Opinion of the Washington Redskins (name)

[DC Al Fine]

Is this below offensive? I can't say that it is, so I guess it depends upon where the line is.

[img snip]http://

No, but if people of Viking descent had a history of discrimination in this country, it might be.

What about this one?


The Irish have suffered some crap in the USA. Is that logo still objectionable?

[bedstuy]

In regards to the Vikings and Fighting Irish:

Those names are still fairly stupid because they play off stereotypes about a group of people.  It's dehumanizing to turn some perceived feature of a group into a mascot.  But, the Vikings and Fighting Irish were created by people with that heritage and they aren't derogatory. 

Whereas, Native Americans don't own any sports franchises.  The names also are plainly derogatory.  They play off the idea that Native Americans are savage, uncivilized people.  That same idea was used as a justification for the ethnic cleansing of the American continent. 

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

I thought this image kind of puts things in perspective...



I maintain that government shouldn't be in the business of renaming sports teams, but I personally wouldn't find it acceptable if I owned the team.

[traininthedistance]

Is this below offensive? I can't say that it is, so I guess it depends upon where the line is.

[img snip]http://

No, but if people of Viking descent had a history of discrimination in this country, it might be.

What about this one?


The Irish have suffered some crap in the USA. Is that logo still objectionable?

Well, I find the very existence of Notre Dame's football program (whatever its mascot) objectionable, so.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

and I find the very existence of American football objectionable, so this is all sort of a moot question for me.

[TJ in Oregon]

The Cleveland Indians are named after Louis Sockalexis, the first Native American to play in MLB, who played for Cleveland. Perhaps the Chief Wahoo logo should be drawn differently (?) but changing the name to something else would be problematic in itself. The thought behind the current logo is that making it cartoonish makes it unoffensive. An alternative if we reject that premise would be to return to the old one, but most people seem to think the current logo is less objectionable.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

The Cleveland Indians are named after Louis Sockalexis, the first Native American to play in MLB, who played for Cleveland. Perhaps the Chief Wahoo logo should be drawn differently (?) but changing the name to something else would be problematic in itself. The thought behind the current logo is that making it cartoonish makes it unoffensive. An alternative if we reject that premise would be to return to the old one, but most people seem to think the current logo is less objectionable.

I think part of the solution here would be to publicise the life and career of Louis Sockalexis more, unless they already do and non-Clevelanders just don't know about it. Also, maybe rename Chief Wahoo.

People find the new logo less objectionable than this:



? Really?

[nolesfan2011]

Just wanna say great discussion folks, very reasonable and good points made by both sides.

[traininthedistance]

One thing to keep in mind is that a lot of the really old NFL teams were named after baseball teams in the cities where they played.  The Bears were so named because they were like the Cubs, only bigger.  The Giants were named after... the Giants.  The Redskins were originally the Braves, after the Boston Braves, and defenders of the Redskin name try to associate it as a pun with the Red Sox, in the same manner.

Obviously, the DC Football Club should carry on this proud tradition from the days of yesteryear, but adapt their name to changing time (ethnic slurs are no longer okay) and changing circumstance (they haven't played in Boston for many, many decades).  

The obvious answer is for them to choose a (for-now defunct) name befitting the District of Columbia's illustrious sporting heritage, a heritage they should be proud to look up to, and become the Washington Senators.  That name has so much history!  And it's just sitting there.  C'mon, Snyder, do the right thing.