Washington Shook's Controversy

After reading this article I believe that it is not racist for a school team to keep their Indian mascots. A school has its right to keep a name that they have had for years. I believe that every team has their name for a reason. That they have taken it too far with the racist stuff. No one is being racist these schools have had their Indian mascots and their Indian names for years and they have absolutely no right to now come out and say these schools are being “racist” towards the tribes. I don’t believe they have any right to tell a team or force a team to stop using a mascot that they have had for years. The Redskins first roster included 4 Native American players in 1933. They have had their name for more the 40 years there is no right

For the fans of the Redskins and NFL in the case of what is probably the most known Native American named sports team, they do not see the Redskins name as a derogatory term. Actually, according to a

A fan once said “There goes the Redskins season” and most times they are right. Although some people find this offensive. Not for the season part but for the name of the teams. For at least two years now fans and simple people have debated whether or not the teams name redskins was offensive to the Native Americans. Some say that it was offensive to the native people, Others disagreed. Having a team named after you is always respectful but in this case it is very offensive to the native American people.

Starting off, the South Park episode “Go Fund Yourself” is concerned with racial stereotyping, more specifically in reference to Native Americans and the Washington Redskins. This episode is based on the removal of the Washington Redskins’ trademarks for being disparaging against Native Americans. South Park portrays the Washington Redskins as hypocrites when Stan, Kyle, Cartman, Kenny, and Butters create a start-up company using the recently cancelled Redskins trademarks. When the owner of the Redskins, Dan Snyder, complains that the boys using their name for their company is offensive, considering the company became infamous for doing nothing, Cartman claims the use of the name is out of “deep appreciation” for the football team, mirroring Snyder’s and other executives’ real-life position on keeping the Redskins’ name (Parker, “Go Fund

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.

Snyder and others strongly believe it’s sacred and deserves to stay with history behind it. The tradition started from tribes and chiefs back in the settlement time. Everything now is respect for the tribes in our nation. The biggest point that the United States wants to get across to the public is pride. In today 's society there is a blind love for the teams and mascots we have today. The hidden picture is seeing that the sports side of our world has the biggest appreciation for Native Americans. Harjo says, “it’s not about choosing sides, it’s about doing the right thing” (Wulf).

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 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,

He insists that the Redskin mascot is a form of resilience. He declared, “It is a symbol of everything we stand for: strength, courage, pride, and respect - the same values we know guide Native Americans and which are embedded throughout their rich history as the original Americans”(Snyder, 249). This shows how he does not believe the Redskin mascot is supposed to be negative, but to be uplifting to both Native Americans and everyone that comes into contact with the mascot. This is important because it demonstrates that people have different perspectives on what the mascot could mean. Dan Snyder also grew up with a strong relationship with the Washington Redskins. He revealed, “That tradition - the song, the cheer - it mattered so much to me as a child, and I know it matters to every other Redskins fan in the D.C. area and across the nation”(Snyder, 249). This illustrates what the Redskins meant to him when he was a child. This is also important because everyone is going to have a different relationship with the mascots, but if any of them are negative then there should be a

Many people look at the Washington Redskins logo and see it just the same as any of the other NFL teams’ logos. So, why take the time and money to change their brand for the very few amount of people that think it’s little offensive? In the past couple of years, a lot of people see many pro and college sports teams differently because of their mascot or logo. Native Americans, whose culture diminished ever since Europeans stepped onto the shores of the East, are used as branding for all levels and divisions of athletics teams. A lot of people argue for both sides of the conflict, with one side reasoning that the logos look racist and disrespect Native American culture, and the other side reasoning that they honor Indians and there is not even an issue. However, a ton of people fighting for the Indian mascot’s removal do not know how Native Americans themselves truly feel about them. Also, the general public probably does not know either that many schools actually work with specific tribes to make sure that they respect their culture. The United States should not ban Native American mascots because most Native Americans don’t get insulted from sports teams’ logos and many teams work with tribes to make sure that they don’t disparage Indian customs and traditions.

The NFL team, the Washington Redskins have been around since 1933, when they went from the name, the Boston Braves to the Washington Redskins. They changed the name because there was already a baseball team named the Boston Braves. In, 1972, a number of Native American leaders met with Redskins President Edward Bennett Williams and urged him to change the team’s name. From 1974-1978, the Washington Redskins receive four more federal trademark registrations, including the famous logo of a two-feathered Native American warrior. In 2004, a poll was shown that stated that 9 out of 10 native americans weren’t offended by the name, ‘Redskins’. In 2006, several Native Americans filed a petition to cancel all of the team’s trademark regulations. As

For football fans like myself and for anyone working in the sports world, the Washington Redskins franchise has become heavily scrutinized for their team trademark name. The Washington Redskins are one of the oldest members since the start of the National Football League. Fans from all across the United States and the world adore the Redskins. However, in recent years, the term ‘Redskin’ has been viewed as a mockery to the native american community.

The controversy over the name of the Washington’s “Redskins” has gotten a lot of media attention. Yet According to America Now, the owner, Dan Snyder refuses to change it. “We’ll never change the name. It’s that simple. NEVER…” The outrage and the effort from the Native Americans is placing the owner of the Dan Snyder under the media’s scrutiny. Will a change be made or will the owner keep his words?

The first team that is widely debated about is the NFL’s Washington Redskins. One reason why the Washington Redskins’ name is not appropriate is because “[redskin] is a dictionary defined slur” (Shapiro, Fox News). This is a good reason, since the term “slur” is a disparaging and minimizing remark according to the dictionary. Another reason why the term “redskin” is not appropriate is that it was “used with an attitude of hostility in the late 19th and early 20th centuries” (Dictionary.com).

This is why the NFL team the Washington Redskins was originally named what they were named. When Jim Thorpe, George Halas, Ralph Hay and many other created the NFL their intentions were not to use Redskins as a racist thing. Some people today do not like the name Redskins for sports because they believed it is racist and has a harmful meaning behind it. But this is not the case for the Washington Redskins. Roger Goodell says that all of the players for the Redskins know what their name means and are very proud to honor the Native people to this day. This was just one of many examples of how Professional Sport teams are trying to honor the early Native