Redskins name controversy

[mary owen]

I got slapped around on this board for saying that I thought the NFL team was honoring or complimenting American Indians by nicknaming themselves the Redskins. I thought it was a silly idea that a team would give themselves a nickname that would mock themselves. (Steve-Stojan, remember this?)

 

well, lookie here:

 

 

Indifference over Redskins name?

WASHINGTON -- A poll of American Indians found that an overwhelming majority of them are not bothered by the name of the Washington Redskins.

 

 

Only 9 percent of those polled said the name of the NFL team is "offensive," while 90 percent said it's acceptable, according to the University of Pennsylvania's National Annenberg Election Survey, released Friday.

 

 

Annenberg polled 768 Indians in every state except Hawaii and Alaska from Oct. 7, 2003, to Sept. 20, 2004.

 

 

The survey found little disparity between men and women or young and old. However, 13 percent of Indians with college degrees said the name is offensive, compared with 9 percent of those with some college and 6 percent of those with a high school education or less. Among self-identified liberals, 14 percent found the term disparaging, compared with 6 percent of conservatives.

 

 

The franchise began in Boston as the Braves but was purchased in 1932 by George Preston Marshall, who changed the name to honor head coach William "Lone Star" Dietz, an American Indian. The team kept its monicker after moving to the nation's capital in 1937.

The name and feather-wearing mascot have since been challenged.

 

 

A panel of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office canceled the team's trademarks in 1999 on the grounds that the name disparages American Indians in violation of federal trademark law. But last year, a federal judge ruled the team can keep its name, finding insufficient evidence to conclude it is an insult to American Indians.

 

 

Some Indian leaders are still pressing their case, noting that many schools with similar mascots referencing Indians have made name changes in recent years.

 

 

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=1888126

[millbank]

a response to poll from Native Indian Leader:

 

Vernon Bellecourt, president of the National Coalition on Racism in Sports and the Media, said he believes both the Anneberg and Sports Illustrated poll are "flawed."

Mr. Bellecourt, a Chippewa who also is an executive committee member of the American Indian Movement, said he suspects about only about 2 percent to 3 percent of those polled who describe themselves as Native American are correct.

He cited two factors he believes contribute to confusion in this area.

"White persons suffer a real identity crisis, and they romanticize with us mythically. And a white person always will say, 'I'm part Indian and I don't object to the name, Redskins,' " he said.

In addition, Mr. Bellecourt said "about half" of those who claim to be Native Americans wrongly think they are, because "they were born in America."

Mr. Bellecourt says he feels confident "almost 100 percent of Native Americans totally object to our continued use as mascots for America's fun and games."

"Redskins is a slur, and there's a scent of racism in the District of Columbia" with that team name, he said.

He said Indian activists remain committed to eliminating that name and those of other teams that use tribal names such as Seminoles and Illini or call themselves Braves, Indians, or "Savages" or "Injuns."

 

Poll

[Tux of Borg]

What's next.... telling the florida st fans that they can no longer do the tomahawk chop.

[_BiB_]

What's next.... telling the florida st fans that they can no longer to the tomahawk chop.

45275[/snapback]

 

Not to mention the Braves.

[yall]

So I guess as an Irishman I should be offended by Notre Dame's mascot as it portrays the Irish as drunk and beligerent?

 

These flakes need to piss off. So what if they are offended. Its a rough world out there and if the name of a sports team pisses you off, you're going to have a hard time with some of the other curve balls life will throw at you.

[Golden Wheels]

It amazing to me that in the 21st century there is still the need by some to justify the use of racial stereotypes.

 

Terrific response my the University of Northern Colorado students who decided to parody racial stereotypes with their team, "The Fighting Whites." They are selling merchandise under this name to fund a scholarships for underprivelged minority students.

 

Official Store of the Fighting Whites

[Ramius]

What's next.... telling the florida st fans that they can no longer do the tomahawk chop.

45275[/snapback]

 

screw that i'm a seminole through and through...try making us students stop the tomahawk chop, and i'll be one of the 35,000 rioters here in tallahassee...

[Nanker]

So I guess as an Irishman I should be offended by Notre Dame's mascot as it portrays the Irish as drunk and beligerent?

 

These flakes need to piss off. So what if they are offended. Its a rough world out there and if the name of a sports team pisses you off, you're going to have a hard time with some of the other curve balls life will throw at you.

45278[/snapback]

 

Naw, in your heart you know the Irish are too busy keeping drunk to care, don't 'ya?

 

But what if we had a team named The Cleveland Negroes and their mascot was a caricature of a guy in blackface and their mascot came out to do a tap dance when somebody hit a home run? You wouldn't have a problem with that would you? Well then, here are some other exciting ideas you might have no objection to.

 

Maybe you think the Washington Ricans wouldn't offend. I'll bet you think the Buffalo Polaks would be fine, or perhaps, the Boston Jews, or the Los Angeles Japs. Here's a good one for you - the Miami Mandingoes!

 

What? How could anybody be offended by those nicknames???

[/sARCASM]

[buckeyemike]

Some of these same protesters spoke out against Chief Wahoo, as you all know, the mascot of my beloved Cleveland Indians.

 

Russell Means first spoke out against this in 1995, when the Indians were knocking the American League around on the way to their first pennant since 1954. He told the press that the protesters were going to be out every night until the team changed the mascot.

 

Indeed the protesters were there for a couple of years...the last time I saw them was around 1998 or so, when there was a court case regarding the actions of one of the protesters...an "inciting to riot" charge that he was eventually found not guilty on.

 

But the protesters stopped...about the same time the Indians stopped winning.

 

My point is, that those who spoke out about Chief Wahoo care more about getting their faces on TV than anything else.

 

Russell Means and Company are publicity hounds, pure and simple.

 

Mike

[Simon]

The way I understand it is that the term redskins is as offensive to an American Indian as the word !@#$ is to a black man.

As far as I'm concerned, that pretty much ends any debate on the issue.

Cya

[Nanker]

The way I understand it is that the term redskins is as offensive to an American Indian as the word !@#$ is to a black man.

As far as I'm concerned, that pretty much ends any debate on the issue.

Cya

45294[/snapback]

 

Amen.

[mary owen]

The way I understand it is that the term redskins is as offensive to an American Indian as the word !@#$ is to a black man.

As far as I'm concerned, that pretty much ends any debate on the issue.

Cya

45294[/snapback]

 

i'm not American Indian, so it's not up to me to say whether it is offensive or not. I can have an opinion either way, but my vote doesn't count.

 

The point here is the way the name FOR THE FOOTBALL TEAM came about. And that as described above, was not done in a demeaning way.

 

As for me, I live in Arizona where there is a very strong Native American populus,

and I know and work with some. One, happens to be a Wash Redskin fan. The others that I know don't take offense to it. That's not to say that all are ok with it.

 

Me, I'm a Puerto Rican. Go ahead and name a team the Rochester Ricans. Slap a logo on the helmet of a dark skinned Warrior.....I won't be offended. But that's just me.

[stevestojan]

I'll tell ya right now that if there was a team called the "Crackers" whose mascot was a white guy who couldnt dance, sunburned easily, and liked watching golf, I would be incredibly offended!

 

[mary owen]

I'll tell ya right now that if there was a team called the "Crackers" whose mascot was a white guy who couldnt dance, sunburned easily, and liked watching golf, I would be incredibly offended!

 

45342[/snapback]

 

why? it would be true

[DC Tom]

why? it would be true

45348[/snapback]

 

Probably at the implication that he likes watching golf.

[Dan Gross]

I'll tell ya right now that if there was a team called the "Crackers" whose mascot was a white guy who couldnt dance, sunburned easily, and liked watching golf, I would be incredibly offended!

 

45342[/snapback]

 

Yeah, he could come out dancing to his theme song, the "White Guy Rap"

"We're white guys, we take no crap

when we deliver our white rap.

We're white guys, and we're all right

we walk real funny with our buttocks held tight!"

[Zamboni Man]

The high school I graduated from in 01 changed their name from Southern Guilford Indians to Southern Guilford Storm last year because it was "offensive". Funny it's been the school mascot for over 30 years and nobody pissed and moaned about it until now.

[Justice]

Do you think Dolphins get offended when Miami uses their name? How come nobody cares about those poor Dolphins being linked to such a horrible team?

[Alaska Darin]

You guys remember that line in the Constitution guaranteeing the right not to be offended?

[tatonka12]

I got slapped around on this board for saying that I thought the NFL team was honoring or complimenting American Indians by nicknaming themselves the Redskins. I thought it was a silly idea that a team would give themselves a nickname that would mock themselves. (Steve-Stojan, remember this?)

 

well, lookie here:

Indifference over Redskins name?

WASHINGTON -- A poll of American Indians found that an overwhelming majority of them are not bothered by the name of the Washington Redskins.

Only 9 percent of those polled said the name of the NFL team is "offensive," while 90 percent said it's acceptable, according to the University of Pennsylvania's National Annenberg Election Survey, released Friday.

Annenberg polled 768 Indians in every state except Hawaii and Alaska from Oct. 7, 2003, to Sept. 20, 2004.

The survey found little disparity between men and women or young and old. However, 13 percent of Indians with college degrees said the name is offensive, compared with 9 percent of those with some college and 6 percent of those with a high school education or less. Among self-identified liberals, 14 percent found the term disparaging, compared with 6 percent of conservatives.

The franchise began in Boston as the Braves but was purchased in 1932 by George Preston Marshall, who changed the name to honor head coach William "Lone Star" Dietz, an American Indian. The team kept its monicker after moving to the nation's capital in 1937.

The name and feather-wearing mascot have since been challenged.

A panel of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office canceled the team's trademarks in 1999 on the grounds that the name disparages American Indians in violation of federal trademark law. But last year, a federal judge ruled the team can keep its name, finding insufficient evidence to conclude it is an insult to American Indians.

Some Indian leaders are still pressing their case, noting that many schools with similar mascots referencing Indians have made name changes in recent years.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=1888126

45218[/snapback]

can we all be a little more thin skinned? this politicaly correct crappolla is for the birds Im sick of it !washington redskins?big deal ! this is like the same crap they pulled in syracuse changing the orangemen to the orange please! why? cuz a couple of women thought it was degradeing to be refered to as orangemen so now lets throw all the tradition and history out the window for a few narrow mined individuals its all a bunch of crap people need to grow up and get over it !