The Washington Redskins Should Be Forced To Change Their Name

Brian Copeland was celebrating his 35th birthday with his friends in a pub. He went to the restroom to take a leak, and then he unexpectedly heard a couple of men talking about him and his accomplishments, but even though Copeland made a name for himself, these guys still see him as a “nigger.”

Washington Redskins Miscues And Dropped Passes In 2017 Could Have Quarterback Kirk Cousins Heading For The Exit.

The Redskins name symbolizes the organizations past, present and future. Coaches, players, and dedicated fans are concerned that the franchise will lose the support of the community and funding if a campaign to change the Redskins name is not implemented.

There has been many controversy with teams using Native American name for mascots and has become a major issue in today’s society. Many have viewed the Washington Redskins as honor for Native Americans, others see it racist, insensitive, and demeaning. Woods (2016) claims that “the complaint is that the use of stereotypical team names, mascots, and logos perpetuates an ideology that dehumanizes and demeans the cultures of Native Americans” (p. 298). Since the issue arise, many scholars, journalists and leaders have joined the battle to ensure that each team will eliminate the nicknames since it is considered abusive or hostile. It may take time but the trend is growing. More than 1,400 professional, collegiate,

Over the past few years, a plethora of different arguments have been brought up concerning the name of the Washington Redskins, an NFL team that plays their games in Landover, Maryland. Although some of these arguments have been brought up by those who feel offended, some of the fighting has been done by people who have no reason to be offended, but rather are willing to fight for someone else. This controversy has been blown out of proportion by those who feel the need to have their voices heard, yet the decision has already been made concerning the team keeping their name. If the word Redskin and the team name Redskins was as bad as the people fighting make it out to be, every writer in every publication would feel the need to stop using

The article, “The 2,128 Native American Mascots People Aren 't Talking About” written by Hayley Munguia gives a massive overview of not only the Redskins, but the 2, 129 other teams representing the controversial Native American mascot references. Munguia begins the article by sharing that a little boy does not even realize the connection between the Redskins and the Native American innuendo. She that this is not just the issue of an NFL team, but about all the other teams in High School, College, Semi Pro, and Pro athletics, and how “8.2% of college have Native American team names. Munguia goes into an interview with a high school coach from the Estelline Redmen. He claims that the name is for the “color they

The word redskin is both offensive and degrading to the Native Americans, and is a word that should be banned in the United States. Most people simply think “ What is the harm in the word redskin?”. For most people they do not realize that it seems the word is harmless but it’s actually offensive to others. If we go around using this word, we are teaching young people it's okay to use the word “blackie” to african americans, or that it's okay to Caucasian“whitie”. The world also holds negative association so when you use it towards someone it seems as if you're trying to call them a hurtful name. It’s not a literal insult but it’s not something we should be saying. The National Football League has a professional team named the Washington Redskins,

Although Native Americans have told ESPN and the owner of the team that they disliked the term redskin and that they are not comfortable being a mascot or subject to slurs, the name is unsuccessful to do so. Many natives are seen protesting on the street showing people that they want a name change and to raise awareness of

Native Americans are truly offended by the team name “Red Skins”. According to “America now” page 71: “Non-native Americans might not understand how deep the term “redskins” cuts into ancient wounds that never quite healed and maybe it’s not reasonable to expect them to because of the hurt they feel. Every time Dan Snyder refuses to change his NFL team’s name, even with tribes paying for powerful ads in opposition, the wounds of Native Americans seem to continue to bleed and may even be cut a bit more deeper…Snyder plunges a long twisted blade into our hearts (Holmes, 71).

When one typically thinks about a Native American, they picture this ideological representation of a Native American as depicted by popular culture. Native Americans are underrepresented on television, in books, in news, and all other forms of media. We, as a society, have chosen a path of ignorance in which we have chosen not to educate ourselves or our future generations on the true culture of Native Americans. We have ignored the negative impacts of using mascots such as “Redskins” and instead let it serve as a stereotype to fill our heads with unrealistic views and understandings of Native American culture. The resulting misconceptions leave many Native American students with a feeling of inferiority and questioning their self-worth.

The big overall issue here is that an overwhelming majority of Native Americans do not consider the issue of the name “Redskins” very important. Most will say they don't mind it, and some will even say they like it. Native Americans will call other natives ‘Redskins’ as well.

‘Hush, Rufe.’ I put my hand on his shoulder to quiet him. Apparently I’d hit the nerve I’d aimed at. ‘I didn’t say you were trash. I said how’d you like to be called trash. I see you don’t like it. I don’t like being called nigger either.’ (61)

Teams that have the name like Redskins, Indians, and Red Raiders are racist terms used as mascots. Interchange the name with the Negroes, the Jews or the Asians and that sounds even worse but, it all means the same thing. They are all racist terms that no one should use to represent something like a team name. According to racismagainstindians.org, Native Americans were banned from practicing their own religion and would be often thrown in jail if they were caught all the way up to 1978. But when nonnative people at sporting events would dance and sing their songs it would be completely okay. This makes no sense,

The controversy of Indian mascots is a widespread issue seen across the U.S.;is it racist , or is it justified? From different viewpoints from many people the answers vary from group to group.I believe it is not racist and believe that it is honoring. Natives should have the final say, but regular americans still step in and want a say in the whole issue. The Indian mascot has been used all across the U.S. ranging from elementary schools all the way to college and professional sports teams. “In fact Over 2,128 other teams use indian referenced team names not just professional”.(Munguia, Hayley)Ranging from many racial terms to regular tribe names. The main focus of the controversy is focused on the professional sports team the Washington Redskins.Many people see this team as racist and degrading to Indians. Some say it is similar to the racial slur n***** to African Americans. I believe the Redskins, may be politically incorrect representation of the Indians but not all indian mascots are racist or wrong. Indian mascots bring history, power, cultural, education and strong images of Indians to Native Americans and all American people. .

Currently in the NFL, the Washington Redskins are being faced with a staggering controversy: Should they change they change their mascot as a result of Native Americans viewing it is a racial discriminatory (Angle 2016)? Dating back to 1933, when the Washington NFL team abandoned the original title of “Braves” and adopted “Redskins,” the debate has since been longstanding (Hylton 2014). Native Americans are challenging the team to rid them, along with all team mascot names relating to their culture countrywide, of their title, but the mascot names have no negative connotation and should not be protested against. The controversy relates back to the 1900s when Native Americans began to feel oppressed and teams began using their titles as mascot (Brady 2016).