Few mascots and logos in American professional sports conjure up such controversy as the Washington Redskins. While some claim it represents the storied history of Native Americans, others consider it to be a racial slur and highly offensive.
The controversy has deep roots. While it's been a polarizing name for most of its history, opposition really started to heat up in 1992. Twenty-five years after the Redskins originally trademarked the brand, a group of Native Americans filed a lawsuit against the nickname. The case was later dismissed after the Supreme Court refused to take it up.
Years later, while the Redskins were attempting to build a new stadium inside the city, senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell introduced legislation that would have required the team to change its nickname before building such a structure in Washington. According to The Washington Post, then-owner Jack Kent Cooke, unwilling to comply, eventually moved the construction outside of the city. Throughout the Redskins' history, government, social groups and Native Americans have attempted to get the name changed. So far, no effort has been remotely close to successful.
The controversy reentered the public sphere last week when a symposium at the National Museum of the American Indian went on the attack against Native American mascots in professional sports. The Redskins, according to The Washington Post, were predictably one of the biggest targets. A month earlier, with the Redskins reemerging in the NFC playoffs, Washington mayor Vincent Gray suggested that a name change should be discussed if the Redskins want to move back into the city, according to The Post. "I think that if they get serious with the team coming back to Washington, there’s no doubt there’s going to have to be a discussion about that, and of course the team is going to have to work with us around that issue," Gray said.
Current fans already use the shortened "Skins" to describe the team, so officially changing it to the abbreviated version would be an easy and pain-free transition. More importantly, dropping "Red" would altogether eliminate the inherent racism from the team name—which is the goal here in the first place.
Other options would be to change the name to Washington Warriors and use a spear as the logo. Not much would have to change with the uniforms. Washington Braves is another option. The team was originally the Boston Braves and when they were moved to D.C. became the Washington Braves for a couple of years before becoming the Redskins.
While I like the name Redskins and the logo, I certainly don't want to offend anyone. I don't think that is anyone's intent today. However, I understand that the name can be offensive and I would be fine with a change as long as the spirit of the team remained intact. That is why I could go for the Washington Warriors. The Braves rides on tradition, but it doesn't offer a huge step forward in moving past the Native American problem "Redskins" presents now. While Redskin fans use the term Skins, I don't know how much I like that. Changing to something completely different would require completely different branding and I don't think the organization or fans would really like that. The Washington Warriors would be a pretty simple transition as the colors could remain the same. The name is pretty cool and can tie somewhat to the history of the Redskins but at the same time not really offend anyone.
Years later, while the Redskins were attempting to build a new stadium inside the city, senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell introduced legislation that would have required the team to change its nickname before building such a structure in Washington. According to The Washington Post, then-owner Jack Kent Cooke, unwilling to comply, eventually moved the construction outside of the city. Throughout the Redskins' history, government, social groups and Native Americans have attempted to get the name changed. So far, no effort has been remotely close to successful.
The controversy reentered the public sphere last week when a symposium at the National Museum of the American Indian went on the attack against Native American mascots in professional sports. The Redskins, according to The Washington Post, were predictably one of the biggest targets. A month earlier, with the Redskins reemerging in the NFC playoffs, Washington mayor Vincent Gray suggested that a name change should be discussed if the Redskins want to move back into the city, according to The Post. "I think that if they get serious with the team coming back to Washington, there’s no doubt there’s going to have to be a discussion about that, and of course the team is going to have to work with us around that issue," Gray said.
Current fans already use the shortened "Skins" to describe the team, so officially changing it to the abbreviated version would be an easy and pain-free transition. More importantly, dropping "Red" would altogether eliminate the inherent racism from the team name—which is the goal here in the first place.
Other options would be to change the name to Washington Warriors and use a spear as the logo. Not much would have to change with the uniforms. Washington Braves is another option. The team was originally the Boston Braves and when they were moved to D.C. became the Washington Braves for a couple of years before becoming the Redskins.
While I like the name Redskins and the logo, I certainly don't want to offend anyone. I don't think that is anyone's intent today. However, I understand that the name can be offensive and I would be fine with a change as long as the spirit of the team remained intact. That is why I could go for the Washington Warriors. The Braves rides on tradition, but it doesn't offer a huge step forward in moving past the Native American problem "Redskins" presents now. While Redskin fans use the term Skins, I don't know how much I like that. Changing to something completely different would require completely different branding and I don't think the organization or fans would really like that. The Washington Warriors would be a pretty simple transition as the colors could remain the same. The name is pretty cool and can tie somewhat to the history of the Redskins but at the same time not really offend anyone.
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