After a humiliating loss against the arch-rival Dallas Cowboys in their last home game, penultimate contest of a disastrous 2009 season, Washington’s NFL team might want to rethink a change of name.
The U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider the right of Pro Football, Inc. to use an ethnic slur as the trademark of the NFL team in the Nation’s Capital. This was no endorsement of the name; the decision was based on a technicality. If shame can’t convince Dan Snyder and company into abandoning the trademarked racial slurs and stereotypes, if the front office discounts the bad karma the name has brought, perhaps this abysmal season — and decade — may encourage them to re-brand the team with a new name and start over.
Come to think of it, given their 4-11 record, DC players and coaches might benefit from similar re-branding after next week’s game. We suggest entering the Federal Witness Protection Program.
Preview the new team uniform here.
Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here (team uniform here). Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.
Tags: football, NFL, racism, Redskins, slur, sports, Washington DC, Washington Redskins
December 28, 2009 at 2:31 pm
You must really have a great life, if this is the only thing you can complain about…
December 28, 2009 at 3:12 pm
David wrote: … if this is the only thing you can complain about…
David: Hardly; just scroll down.
Perhaps this issue would mean more to you if you lived in DC, or if your local California NFL teams were named, oh, the San Francisco Fags or Los Angeles Beaners.
And I thought I was heaping scorn, not complaining. Sorry if it didn’t work for you.
December 28, 2009 at 4:53 pm
For one thing, sports franchises choose animals and people they admire as their mascots, not people they want to subdue. Redskins is a nickname, for Pete’s sake. I hope they never change it.
December 28, 2009 at 7:54 pm
David wrote: Redskins is a nickname, for Pete’s sake.
It is derogatory, as if West Virginia University called their team the Rednecks instead of the Mountaineers.
December 29, 2009 at 9:13 am
I’m more concerned they’re called the “Washington” Redskins, when they play in f#**ing MARYLAND. But that’s another issue entirely
December 29, 2009 at 9:31 am
Rich: The New Jersey Giants have a similar issue, but the owner of that pitiful team doesn’t bundle seats to ticket brokers while thousands of fans are on the season ticket waiting list, sue patrons slow to pay bills during a recession, and employ “screaming boobs on the public address system, surly parking attendants and in-stadium ushers and clearly one of the worst fan `experiences’ in the league for anyone who braves the maddening traffic to get there,” as Leonard Shapiro put it.
December 29, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Actually, most rednecks are proud to be identified as rednecks. It’s not meant to be derogatory, so it’s not derogatory.
In the case of the DC Area football team, it’s a nickname, and it’s meant to honor the Indians.
December 29, 2009 at 8:04 pm
I’m not going to claim that “Redskins” is the most PC name in the world. But let’s be honest, here: There is no great clamor for the team to change its name. The plaintiffs in the case are a relatively small group of people who have been at this for years, not the entire Native American population of the United States. Are Snyder or the courts really supposed to let a few people dictate what’s offensive?
Additionally, this is a trademark worth millions. It’s really easy for people to say what Snyder should do when it’s not their money at stake.
December 29, 2009 at 8:23 pm
David wrote: most rednecks are proud to be identified as rednecks
Today people of rural Southern background can make fun of this century-old “fightin’ word” and stereotype — amongst themselves. Other people do not use it as a compliment, and I do not advise outsiders to utter it in a Southern biker bar.
It’s not meant to be derogatory, so it’s not derogatory.
Depends on who says it, and to whom — just like the “N-word.”
it’s meant to honor the Indians.
I can assure you that they do not feel honored by this kind of stuff. But don’t take my word for it — go back and click on the links above.
December 29, 2009 at 8:45 pm
Scotus wrote:
There is no great clamor for the team to change its name.
Because DC is not, say Phoenix, with it’s large Native American population. But NFL starts with the word “National,” actually includes Arizona, and the DC team’s slur is carried on the public airwaves.
The plaintiffs .. are a relatively small group of people … not the entire Native American population of the United States.
The Natrional Congress of American Indians, which represents Native American nations, isn’t too fond of the name, either: “For almost 40 years the Native American community has sought to retire Pro-Football’s Redskins’ trademark. The mark is patently offensive, disparaging, and demeaning and perpetrates a centuries-old stereotype.”
And if the NFL Giants were called the NY Heebs some people would think it was funny. Many wouldn’t.
… this is a trademark worth millions.
Right now the franchise isn’t worth a bucket of warm spit, thanks to Mr. Snyder. What a great time for a name change.
January 3, 2010 at 10:36 pm
[...] More changes suggested here. [...]