2020-07-02 07:00:00
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According to some interest groups, the name of the Washington Redskins is currently the biggest concern for the approximately three million Native Americans.
The concerns of people who feel discriminated against are only apparently the focus, it’s more about politics, populism and a lot of money.
Redskins back in discussion
The discussion about the name of the traditional NFL team flares up again and again, usually when the team is either successful – as in 2012 at the division title with Rookie of the Year Robert Griffin III – or a topic in public, as is currently the case with the new coach Ron Rivera and star rookie Chase Young and the stadium discussion.
In the bleak sporting period of 1993 and 2011, there were no advocates for tolerance and decency because the team was simply irrelevant.
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Interest groups contact sponsors
In the course of the violent death of George Floyd and the subsequent protests against racism and police violence, various investment companies and the Oneida Indian Nation turned to Nike, Pepsi and FedEx (current name sponsor of Redskins Stadium).
The corporations should stop supporting the Redskins unless the name is changed. The companies and the team have not wanted to comment on this so far.
Studies and polls: Native Americans clear for Redskins
In fact, the Oneida Indian Nation – a tribe in upstate New York – has been on an unsuccessful crusade for years, invoking the “common will of our people”.
However, a study by the “Annenberg Public Policy Center” refutes this statement. According to this, 90 percent of the indigenous people surveyed did not feel offended by the term, which was actually used as a swear word in the past. A 2016 Washington Post poll came to exactly the same conclusion — in 2019, the most common word among Native Americans polled by the Post about the Redskins was “proud.”
Many tribes even point out that the three-time Super Bowl champ gave new meaning to the word “redskin.”
“A lot of people speak for us who aren’t native. Redskin wasn’t given to us by the white man, that identity was taken from us. The name honors our culture,” says Chief Stephen Dodson of the Aleutian tribe of Alaska.
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Inappropriate comparison to Black Lives Matter
In the hysteria about “political correctness”, not only is a completely inappropriate comparison made to Black Lives Matter, but facts are also ignored.
The team was founded in 1932 as the Boston Braves and renamed the Redskins a year later. Four players and head coach William “Lone Star” Dietz were Native Americans.
In 1971, legendary coach George Allen, together with the “Red Cloud Athletic Fund” from a reservation in South Dakota, designed the helmet logo, which is said to be so racist today. Allen was later even honored by the foundation for his commitment.
“The team has a great legacy of respect. It’s not in the slightest bit disparaging. This campaign irritates our people,” Dodson said.
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Cultural repression and casinos
The tribes are concerned about the trend to abandon Native American nicknames on sports teams (high schools, colleges) and fear a “permanent crowding out of our culture from the public eye,” as Robert Green, chief of the Patawomeck, puts it.
“I ask those who feel offended to respect the opinions of their people and our legacy as a team,” owner Dan Snyder wrote in an open letter years ago.
The argumentative boss of the Redskins, who supports native people with a foundation, will not change the name anyway, neither the NFL nor the government could force him to do so.
Rather, the discussion is about votes, donations, licenses for the lucrative casinos and the associated influence on legislation. The Oneida have been at odds with the government over land and gambling taxes for decades.
Stadium becomes a problem
The Redskins are always exploited for this when they are in the media spotlight. It’s all about money and influence.
The same applies to the team, who have always won in court, but their desired return to the district – the current stadium is in Maryland – could be problematic in the current mood, since those responsible are the land on which the old RFK Stadium is and where the skins want to rebuild, currently do not want to release without a name change.
There are more than enough important issues that government officials and interest groups need to address.
“Many bad things have been done to our people”
Indigenous communities continue to be plagued by poverty, unemployment, poor medical care, inadequate schooling, and alcohol and drug problems.
“A lot of bad things have been done to our people throughout history. Calling a football team the Redskins is certainly not one of them. We have real problems,” Green said.
However, this does not mean that a media-effective crusade can be carried out in the sports-crazy USA.
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