As another NFL football season began and the Washington Redskins opened up their season at home, a new year of controversy surrounds the nation’s capitol. More people than just Philadelphia Eagles fans rooted against Washington that night. Even people who have never seen a game of football are beginning to root against the team — or more specifically, its name. The Washington-based football team resides in a city that is supposed to be a symbol of freedom, democracy and individual liberty. But instead of having a patriotic name like many Washington sports teams have, the football team is identified by a term many consider offensive.
The origin of the term “redskin” is controversial in itself. Some argue it just refers to Native Americans, who referred to themselves as “red” in order to differentiate themselves from white settlers during colonization. But more and more people believe that a “redskin” refers to the scalps of Native Americans brutally skinned by colonists during the French and Indian War. In 1755, an edict offered monetary rewards to colonists for Indian scalps. Not only did this clear the land of its natives, but these scalps were also paraded around and given as gifts.
Football is a violent sport. Concussions and torn ACLs seem as abundant as touchdowns. But to name a team after a mangled body part serving as a trophy goes beyond barbaric. There is no place for that in the United States, let alone in the NFL. Even if the name only referred to Native Americans, what connotation does that hold? That name isn’t a fond pet name historians devote to those they research. It is a term derived during a time of ignorance, hatred and violence. Should the Washington football team be allowed to keep its name just because many Americans are unaware of its origin? Just because not everyone is breaking down the door of Dan Snyder, Washington’s owner, does not mean we should just forget about it.
It shouldn’t matter whether this issue only directly insults 100 people or 1 million. The fact that any group is being discriminated against should be enough to encourage all Americans to come to the aid of their fellow citizens. If the issue involved a larger or louder minority of Americans, this would not be a question. There is no way, in this day and age, that a team would be allowed to be named after a derogatory term for black people, Jews or members of any other minority. What makes Native Americans different?
Just recently, Riley Cooper, an Eagles wide receiver, received mandatory counseling after a video of him using the “N-word” surfaced on the Internet. This was only the transgression of an individual, not an entire organization. Allowing an entire team to be referred to as an offensive slur is much worse. Snyder recently announced that, in spite of a request made by 10 congressmen, he will not change the name. The longer he postpones the inevitable, the more his team will suffer.
Washington wouldn’t be the first team to change its name, especially not the first team named after Native Americans to do so. St. John’s University changed its name from the Redmen to the Red Storm. The University of Miami of Ohio used to be the Redskins before becoming the Redhawks. The list goes on to include Stanford, Marquette and Syracuse Universities, along with several schools that changed mascots. All did so to appease those who were hurt by their names. Why can’t the Washington team change its name? These schools showed it’s better to rebrand than wait for fan discontent to build. All of these schools not only appeased fans but also profited from the change. Whether for mental or moral profit, there doesn’t seem to be a reason to keep the name any longer.
A name change for a Washington sports franchise is not unprecedented, either. Washington’s NBA team, the Washington Wizards, was originally named the Washington Bullets. With a team that has been around for over 80 years — though some of those years were before the team moved from Boston — there are many sentimental reasons people still cling to the name. But at the same time, a lot has changed since the team was founded, and there is no room in a billion dollar industry for teams to halt progress.
Several media outlets have already stopped using the slur. By changing Washington’s name to something like the Red Hawks or the Red Rapids, all fans of the team have to do is buy a piece of duct tape to cover up part of the team name on their old jerseys without even having to buy new ones. It’s that easy.
Andrew Feldman ’15 constantly changes his fantasy football team’s name and can be reached at andrew_feldman@brown.edu
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